A court has ruled that Warner Bros. Discovery and DC Comics have been cleared of a legal threat that loomed over their impending July release of a major Superman film, sparing them from a lawsuit that sought to halt its international premiere in several countries. On Thursday, U.S. District Judge Jesse Furman dismissed a claim filed by the estate of Joseph Shuster, the co-creator of Superman, citing a lack of jurisdiction as the infringement allegations were grounded in foreign legal frameworks.
In a resounding declaration, a WBD spokesperson affirmed, "DC retains unassailable control over all rights pertaining to Superman, as we have steadfastly maintained." However, the lawsuit was swiftly re-filed in a New York state court on Friday.
Warren Peary, Shuster's nephew, had launched a comprehensive legal assault, alleging copyright violations across the U.K., Australia, Canada, and Ireland, among others. His claim posited that WBD had forfeited its international rights to Superman years prior but persisted in exploiting them without authorization or remuneration. The suit sought a portion of the profits garnered from works like Zack Snyder's Justice League, Black Adam, and Shazam!, all tied to alleged infringements in multiple territories.
Judge Furman, in his Thursday ruling, rejected Peary's contention that the suit implicated a supposed breach of U.S. law, which was pivotal to the case's adjudication. "The infringement claims are explicitly anchored in foreign legal codes, not those of the United States," Furman clarified.
Peary's arguments also invoked the Berne Convention, an 1886 international treaty establishing minimum standards for copyright protection. He argued that the court must apply the laws of the countries where Superman's copyright was being infringed, including Canada, the U.K., Australia, New Zealand, and Ireland. Under U.K. copyright law, for instance, copyright assignments terminate 25 years after the author's demise. According to Peary's reasoning, the estate reclaimed the rights to Superman in 2017, following Shuster's death in 1992.
However, the court concluded that the Berne Convention is not "self-executing," meaning its provisions do not automatically carry enforcement power in U.S. courts.
DC's ownership of Superman dates back to 1938 when Jerome Siegel, a writer, and Shuster, a graphic artist, sold their rights to the character and narrative for a mere $130. The hero debuted under DC's banner in Action Comics No. 1, detailing his origins, alter ego as Clark Kent, a newspaper reporter, and his superhuman strengths and speeds (his inaugural flight featured in Action Comics No. 65 in 1943).
Since then, the rights to Superman have frequently been contested. In 1947, Siegel and Shuster sued to invalidate DC's ownership, eventually settling with a $94,000 payout. Under U.S. copyright law, Shuster could have reclaimed his domestic rights after a specified period, but a deal brokered by his siblings with DC in 1992, granting them $25,000 annually, extinguished that possibility. A federal appeals court upheld this agreement.
Additionally, there was skepticism about whether Shuster's sister had the authority to bind the estate to a deal purportedly relinquishing its rights to terminate DC's ownership. The court did not address this issue, finding it lacked jurisdiction over the case.
Peary was represented by renowned copyright termination lawyer Marc Toberoff, who declined to comment on the matter.
