There may be trouble ahead for Superman. Not Brainiac or Lex Luthor, but lawyers. According to a report in The Hollywood Reporter a suit has been filed by the estate of Superman creator Joseph Schuster against Warner Bros. Discovery, DC Studios, and DC Comics. The aim? To unlock the release of Superman in several key territories.
So what’s the issue? The filing states that the studio does not have the right to release the movie in any territories that are part of the Commonwealth. The Commonwealth is the association of nations that were part of the British Empire. Many still have the British King as the Head Of State and their legal systems are closely tied to British common law.
The filing was submitted before the weekend in the Southern District of New York. It seeks damages for copyright infringement in Canada, the United Kingdom, and Australia. It also seeks to settle the ownership dispute.
Warner Bros. Discovery responded:
“We fundamentally disagree with the merits of the lawsuit, and will vigorously defend our rights.”
Why is this happening? Creators Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster signed over the worldwide rights to Superman as a character to what would eventually become DC in 1938. However, British common law contains provisions that revoke these arrangements 25 years after an author’s death. Shuster died in 1992 and Siegel in 1996. So, as the lawsuit states:
“By operation of law, Shuster’s foreign copyrights automatically reverted to his estate in 2017 in most of these territories (and in 2021 in Canada). Yet Defendants continue to exploit Superman across these jurisdictions without the Shuster Estate’s authorization – including in motion pictures, television series, and merchandise – in direct contravention of these countries’ copyright laws, which require the consent of all joint copyright owners to do so.”
A request has been made for a cease and desist order against Warner Bros. and a share of profits from other recent projects featuring the character including Zack Snyder’s Justice League.
As usual, it’s all about the $$$$.