Warner Bros. Discovery Beats Lawsuit Over Superman Rights

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According to the latest decision by the court, Warner Bros. Discovery and DC Comics are now clear from any legal action concerning Superman’s rights. This ruling prevents a potential lawsuit that could have delayed their major film release in multiple countries, which was initially planned for July.

On Thursday, U.S. District Judge Jesse Furman decided to drop the lawsuit from the estate of Superman’s co-creator, Joseph Shuster, as he lacked jurisdiction over the case. The reason being that the allegations of copyright infringement were based on foreign laws.

Judge Jesse Furman dismissed a lawsuit filed by the estate of Superman’s creator, Joseph Shuster, because he couldn’t handle the case since the claims about copying someone else’s work were made under different countries’ rules.

According to the representative from WBD, they’ve been emphasizing that DC holds exclusive rights to Superman.

Warren Peary, Shuster’s nephew, brought forward a far-reaching lawsuit stating that copyright laws were violated across the U.K., Australia, Canada, and Ireland (among other places). He argued that Warner Bros. Discovery (WBD) had forfeited its international rights to Superman many years ago but still used them without authorization or payment. The lawsuit aimed to claim a portion of profits from works believed to be infringements, such as Zack Snyder’s Justice League, Black Adam, and Shazam! in multiple countries.

In Thursday’s decision, the court dismissed Peary’s assertion that the lawsuit involves a potential breach of U.S. law, stating that his “allegations revolve around foreign legal systems, not American ones.” Furman elaborated on this point.

One of the points Peary made was that his copyright claims fall under the Berne Convention, a treaty signed in 1886 which outlines minimum standards for international copyright protection. He contended that the court should apply the laws of the countries where his Superman rights are being violated, such as Canada, the U.K., Australia, New Zealand, and Ireland. For instance, under British copyright law, copyright assignments expire 25 years after the creator’s death. According to Peary’s reasoning, the estate regained the rights to Superman in 2017 since Shuster passed away in 1992.

The court determined that the Berne Convention doesn’t have an inherent ability to be enforced, which implies that its rules can’t be directly applied in American courts without additional steps or legislation.

The rights to Superman, both character and story, were initially purchased by DC in 1938 for $130 from its creators, writer Jerome Siegel and artist Joe Shuster. It was under the DC label that Superman made his debut in Action Comics Issue 1, where his origin story, disguise as Clark Kent, a newspaper reporter, and abilities of extraordinary strength and speed were introduced (he would not fly until Action Comics Issue 65, which came out in 1943).

Ever since then, it has often been embroiled in legal disputes, with the first such instance occurring in 1947 when Shuster and Siegel filed a lawsuit aiming to revoke DC’s claim on Superman’s rights. The lawsuit was eventually resolved through a settlement, resulting in Shuster and Siegel receiving $94,000.

According to U.S. copyright law, Shuster initially had the right to reclaim control over Superman after a specific time frame due to a provision in intellectual property law. However, his sister and brother signed an agreement with DC in 1992, forfeiting this right in return for annual payments of $25,000. A federal appeals court later confirmed this decision.

Additionally, there was a question about whether Shuster’s sister had the power to tie the estate to the agreement that supposedly transferred the right to end DC’s ownership of Superman. However, the court did not rule on this matter because it determined that it lacked jurisdiction over the case.

Peary was legally represented by prominent copyright termination attorney Marc Toberoff, who chose not to make a statement on the matter.

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2025-04-25 20:55