Warner Brothers and the heirs of Jerome Siegel have battled for years over the commercial rights to the Superman comic franchise. Siegel and Joe Schuster created Superman, but sold the rights to National Allied Publications, which became DC Comics, in 1938. Over the years, the two creators sued over Superman rights quite a few times. In 1975, Warner Communications, DC’s parent company, awarded Siegel and Shuster $20,000 each a year for the rest of their lives and also guaranteed that all comics, TV episodes, films, and video games starring Superman would all be required to carry the credit that Superman was created by the two.
Siegel’s widow, Joanne Siegel, and their daughter, Laura Siegel Larson, once again started the legal battle rolling when they filed a copyright termination notice in 1999. Warner Bros. and the Siegels have been in and out of court ever since.
In 2008, a federal court ruled the heirs of Jerry Siegel could reclaim 50% of Superman’s rights in 2013. However last week, the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals ruled that Siegel’s heirs must abide by the 2001 agreement they made with Warner Bros. This recent ruling overturns the trial judge’s 2008 decision. This is the second victory Warner Bros. has won recently, as three months ago, Joseph Shuster’s heirs also lost their legal bid to regain a share of Superman’s copyright.
This decision comes at an opportune time for Warner Bros., as the new Superman movie, Man of Steel,will be released in theaters this June. Without the recent ruling, the studio would not have been able to create new “derivative works” based on Superman’s first appearance in Action Comics #1, without a portion of the profits going to the Siegels as co-owners. Warner Bros. should be able to proceed with any future Superman ventures without any further problems with either of the creators heirs.
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