DC Studios

The estate of Joseph Shuster, the co-creator of “Superman,” is suing to stop the man of steel from taking flight in several major international territories just months before the newest, highly anticipated “Superman” movie is released.

The federal suit, filed Friday in New York’s Southern District, alleges that DC Comics’ international rights for “Superman” expired in 2017 and 2021 in key countries including the U.K., Australia and Canada. DC Comics is a unit of Warner Bros. Discovery.

The suit claims that despite the expiration of the international rights, DC and Warner continued to use the original work as well as related television series, videogames and merchandise.

“These foreign copyright laws were specifically designed to protect creators like my Uncle Joe. That is what we’re fighting for here,” said Mark Warren Peary, executor of the Shuster estate.

Warner and DC weren’t immediately available for comment.

The coming “Superman” movie, starring David Corenswet making his debut as the red-caped superhero, is scheduled to open in theaters July 11. It is the first stand-alone “Superman” movie since 2013, and revitalizing the character is a priority for Warner Bros. Discovery Chief Executive David Zaslav.

The suit is the latest salvo in a battle over the “Superman” copyright that dates back to 1938, when Shuster and co-creator Jerry Siegel sold their original “Superman” character and story to DC for $130.

The story became a hit and the two creators were paid by the page for future stories, but received no royalties. In 1947 the pair unsuccessfully took DC to court in an effort to win back the copyright.

Since then, “Superman” has been the subject of periodic litigation among the creators, their estates and DC. In 1992, DC agreed to continue paying to Shuster’s sister the $25,000 stipend that he received, instead of the $5,000 it was contractually obligated to pay, based on a deal Warner struck a few decades before that. The estate of “Superman” co-creator Jerry Siegel has been operating under a settlement agreement with DC since 2013.

Friday’s filing cites the so-called “Dickens provision” in U.K. copyright law that states a copyright that has been granted to a third party automatically reverts back to the author’s estate 25 years after their death. Shuster died in 1992.

Canadian law requires that in the case of a joint work, the copyright reverts 25 years after both authors have passed. Siegel died in 1996.

The Shuster estate is seeking an order stopping Warner and DC from licensing and using the “Superman” property in any of the territories where the rights revert after 25 years without getting a copyright license from the estate, as well as damages to be determined at trial.

Marc Toberoff, the attorney representing the Shuster estate, said DC and Warner Bros.’ profiting off “Superman” in those territories “blatantly violates” the copyright laws.

If successful, the suit could have broader implications for the industry when it comes to securing or maintaining copyrights, particularly in overseas markets where movie studios have enormous audiences for their superhero and action franchises.

Toberoff said in an interview that the suit isn’t meant to deprive fans of their next “Superman” movie, but rather “seek just compensation for Joe Shuster’s fundamental contributions as the co-creator of the character.”

Thrilled to see cameras roll at Warner Bros. Studios Leavesden on Supergirl, with Craig Gillespie at the helm and the phenomenal Milly Alcock as our Kara Zor-El. Craig brings an incredible sensibility to this story, and Milly is every inch the unique #Supergirl envisioned by Tom King, Bilquis Evely & Ana Nogueira.

cross-posted from: https://feddit.uk/post/23032420

The DC Studios co-CEO recently took to Bluesky to explain why The Suicide Squad and Peacemaker Season 1 are not considered canon even though events from both projects are referenced or followed up on in Creature Commandos, which is the first entry in the DCU. "Short answer: Only Creature Commandos forward is pure canon. For instance, Rick Flag Jr was killed because we heard Rick Flag Sr talking about it in Creature Commandos, not because we saw it in The Suicide Squad," Gunn wrote. "Long answer: Only CC forward is pure canon; Peacemaker is almost entirely consistent with that canon other than the Justice League; The Suicide Squad has a lot of consistencies but I think of it as an imperfect memory."

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