The battle for Superman has finally drawn to a close. With this week’s announcement that Warner Bros. had won it’s legal battle against the heirs of Superman’s creators in the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals, the entertainment company officially has control of the world’s greatest superhero.
DC wins the fight for the rights to Superman.
After years of legal action taken by the families of Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster, DC and Warner Bros. have full copyright control over the Big Blue Boy Scout and will not run the risk of facing any hindrances in the creation of a Man of Steel sequel. The copyright battle has been raging for the last twenty years, with DC stating that it gained control in 2003 after an agreement made with a Shuster heir in 1992. However, the Siegel estate disagreed and has been attempting to gain control. But once the court discovered that the estate and its lawyer Marc Toberoff were fighting to give the film rights to Toberoff’s own film company, the court ruled against them.
The appeals court decision came in at a 2-1 vote in favor of Warner Bros. The Siegel Estate could appeal the decision, but it is unlikely that any appeal would be successful.
The full court memorandum can be read here.
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Source: Deadline.com
