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Its …international copyright law!
Once again,DC Comics is being suedfor rights to its most iconic character.
(Sorry, Batman.)
The estate of Joe Shuster has found another legal channel to try and regain control of Superman.
Now a new lawsuit is coming at an inopportune time for DC Studios and Warner Bros.
The full relaunch of the DCU now rests on a teensy clause in U.K. copyright law.
Lets break it down.
Who is suing what now?
The estate of Joe Shuster is suing DC Comics and Warner Bros.
Discovery for infringement of copyright.
Their argument rests on a quirk of U.K. copyright law,British Reversionary Rights.
So according to the Shuster estate, DC et al.
have been using Superman without their permission since 2021 (25 years after Shusters death).
You said this is the latest lawsuit?
The IP rights to Superman are messy.
Like, Bravolebrity breakup levels of mess and acrimony.
That was standard business practice for comics at the time.
However, standard business practices for comics at the time were deeply shitty.
Still, both Siegel and Shuster worked at DC for another nine years.
The beef really got underway when DC published a Superboy story in 1947.
The rights to Superboy had never been determined, so S&S sued.
They settled out of court, with DC paying $94,013.16 for both characters.
Shortly after settling with DC, both Siegel and Shuster were shitcanned by the company.
The courts upheld the original 1938 sale.
Warner Bros (whod bought DC Comics in the 60s) made a three-point agreement with the Superman creators.
When Siegel died in 1996, his family decided to challenge the copyright yet again.
In 2001, Siegels family was granted several million dollars for the permanent rights to Supes.
Seems like itd be over, right?
Both families sued DC/WB yet again in the 2000s, but courts ruled in the companys favor.
Is this like that horror adaptation ofSteamboat Willie?
Kind of, but also the opposite?
The murderous versions of Steamboat Willie andWinnie the Poohare legal because those characters have entered the public domain.
In the U.S., that happens 95 years after publication.
British Reversionary Rights come into effect 25 years after a creators death.
How does this affect the new Superman movie?
If courts agree to the injunction,Supermanwould potentially be barred from release in countries that follow U.K. law.
Has Warner Bros. or DC Comics responded?
This post has been updated with a statement.
