Warner Bros.’ Superman Rollout Threatened by Lawsuit Over International Rights – Hollywood Reporter
Subscribe for full access to The Hollywood ReporterSubscribe for full access to The Hollywood ReporterThe estate of Superman co-creator Joseph Shuster accuses the studio of years-long copyright infringement on several movies and TV shows that exploit the hero.
By
Winston Cho
Warner Bros. Discovery has been sued over the rights to Superman in a lawsuit seeking to block the release of the studio’s tentpole film in several countries ahead of its July debut.
The estate of Joseph Shuster, the co-creator of Superman, alleges that WBD lost its international rights to the character and story years ago but continued to exploit them without its permission or compensation. In a complaint filed in New York federal court on Friday, it seeks a share of profits from all works attributable to the alleged copyright infringement — including Zack Snyder’s Justice League, Black Adam and Shazam! — in key countries such as Canada, the U.K. and Australia.
Related Stories
Movies
James Gunn Says New Shot of Superman’s Face Is “Zero CG”; Fans Say, “We Can Tell”
Movies
‘Supergirl: Woman of Tomorrow’ Adds David Krumholtz, Emily Beecham (Exclusive)
In a statement, a WBD said, “We fundamentally disagree with the merits of the lawsuit, and will vigorously defend our rights.”
The legal action marks a potential hitch in WBD’s rollout of Superman, which arrives July 11 as the first solo movie for the character in more than a decade since Man of Steel. It’s intended to serve as the cornerstone property for DC Studios co-chiefs James Gunn and Peter Safran, who’ve planned a slate of projects around the movie and were hired by WBD chief executive David Zaslav with a mandate to reinvent the DC universe.
DC’s ownership of Superman dates back to 1938, when writer Jerome Siegal and Shuster, a graphic artist, sold their rights to the character and story for $130. The hero’s first appearance under DC’s banner was in Action Comics No. 1, which detailed his backstory, secret identity as newspaper reporter Clark Kent, and powers of super strength and speed (his first time flying came in 1943 in Action Comics No. 65).
Since then, it’s frequently been the target of litigation, starting in 1947 when the duo sued to invalidate DC’s ownership of the rights to Superman. The case settled, with a $94,000 payout to Shuster and Siegel to resolve the case.
Under U.S. copyright law, Shuster would typically be able to reclaim his domestic rights to Superman under a provision in intellectual property law that allows authors to claw back ownership of their works after a certain period of time. But his sister and brother reached a deal with DC in 1992 that terminated that right in exchange for $25,000 per year. A federal appeals court later upheld that determination.
This time, Shuster’s estate looks to take advantage of U.K. copyright law, which automatically terminates copyright assignments 25 years after an author’s death. By its thinking, it reclaimed the rights to Superman in 2017 since the graphic artist died in 1992.
Also at play: the possibility that Shuster’s sister didn’t have the authority to bind the estate to the agreement that purportedly surrendered its right to terminate DC’s ownership of Superman. In that case, the court stated that the issue is a “complex one” and punted on deciding it.
The lawsuit claims infringement of copyright laws in the U.K. Australia, Canada and Ireland. It seeks a court order barring further exploitation of the international rights to Superman allegedly owned by the Shuster estate, which is represented by powerhouse copyright termination lawyer Marc Toberoff.Sign up for THR news straight to your inbox every daySign up for THR news straight to your inbox every daySubscribe for full access to The Hollywood ReporterSend us a tip using our anonymous form.
