Siegels win a round in epic battle for Superman

By Matthew Belloni

The heirs of Superman co-creator Jerry Siegel have muscled a few more rights away from DC Comics and Warner Bros. in their latest round of litigation.

In a 92-page ruling issued Wednesday, Judge Stephen Larson found that the Siegel family had successfully recaptured key rights to the character, including first two weeks of Superman newspaper comic strips that lay out now-familiar elements of the Superman mythology.

The issue was whether those materials should be included in the Siegels' "termination" of Superman copyrights. Judge Larson ruled in 2008 that the Siegels had properly recaptured copyrights associated with Superman after years of being controlled by Warners/DC, but questions remained about whether the material that was potentially created as a "work-for-hire" should be included. Under copyright law, "works-for-hire" created while employed by someone else are not subject to later termination.

The court ruled, for the most part, that the Siegels successfully recaptured most of the works at issue, including those first two weeks of daily Superman strips, as well as key sections of early Action Comics and Superman comics.This means the Siegels, repped by Warners' nemesis Marc Toberoff, now control depictions of Superman's origins from the planet Krypton, his parents Jor-El and Lora, Superman as an infant, the launching of the baby Superman into space and his landing on Earth in a fiery crash.

But Warners/DC still owns other elements, including Superman's ability to fly, the term "kryptonite," the  villain Lex Luthor, Jimmy Olsen, and some of Superman's powers.

Warner Bros. issued this statement following the ruling: "Warner and DC Comics are pleased that the Court has affirmed that the vast majority of key elements associated with the Superman character that were developed after Action Comics #1 - including Lex Luthor, kryptonite and Superman's ability to fly - are not part of the copyrights that the plaintiffs have recaptured and therefore remain solely owned by DC Comics."

The decision is the latest twist in the battle over ownership of the Man of Steel. Judge Larson's 2008 ruling requires Warner Bros. and DC to account to the Siegels for profits earned from the character since 1999, including from the 2006 film "Superman Returns." But a trial last month over accounting issues ended with a Warner victory.

Here's the ruling, It's worth reading. In addition to including cool original Superman art, it delves into the detailed history of the creation of Superman, including a period in which the Man of Steel was conceived as merely an infant sent back in time to present-day America by the last man on Earth.

Comments

[Dr. Grood]

I see there is no mention of the arctic Fortress of Solitude in the write-up about the case. I suppose one must assume Clark Savage Jr. just gave it up at the end of his crime-fighting career and allowed Supey to use it without charging him any rent. Either that or Lester Dent's widow has her opportunity now while they're cutting up the pie to claim that slice.

[John Davis]

No way dude that is just too cool!

RT
www.online-anonymity.net.tc

[Randy Kiessig]

This really sucks.. Superman was outright sold in the beginning, and despite the "creators" attempting to fleece DC for money again and again, DC has treated them pretty well. The fact that the Siegels can get ANYTHING is a joke on the system.

Without DC, Superman would be just another empty character. What a freaking joke.

[College Admission]

Thia was a very nice article to read.

[Business Loans]

I had a great time with this article as I read the topic extensively. Thank you for the post.

[SEO Blog]

very great post!

[air jordan shoes]

More and more people began to collect air jordan shoes.