
Superman Co-Creator’s Estate Sues DC, Warner Bros. Discover
By Movieguide® Contributor
Superman co-creator Joe Schuster’s estate is suing Warner Bros Discovery and DC Comics, claiming they do not have the rights to release the upcoming film in some markets.
On Jan. 31, Mark Warren Peary, the executor of Schuster’s estate, filed in the Federal Court in the Southern District of New York.
“Shuster died in 1992 and Siegel in 1996. 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,” the lawsuit states.
This suit comes just a few months ahead of DC Studios’ release of its next SUPERMAN movie on July 11, starring David Corenswet, Rachel Brosnahan, Nicholas Hoult and María Gabriela de Faría. It aims to prevent the movie’s release in Canada, the United Kingdom, Ireland and Australia, per Screen Rant.
A spokesperson for WBD responded to the lawsuit, stating, “We fundamentally disagree with the merits of the lawsuit, and will vigorously defend our rights.”
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However, Marc Toberoff, the estate’s attorney, promises he will put up a fight.
“We live in a global economy; studios like DC Entertainment and Warner Bros. cannot expect foreign countries to respect and enforce U.S. copyright law amidst rampant piracy, if we don’t respect and enforce their copyright laws,” he said. “This suit is not intended to deprive fans of their next Superman, but rather seeks just compensation for Joe Shuster’s fundamental contributions as the co-creator of Superman. The ball’s in DC and Warner Bros.’ court to do the right thing.”
In addition to the lawsuit, the estate has requested a cease and desist order to prevent anyone from “(a) infringing, or contributing to or participating in the infringement by others the copyright in the Work or acting in concert with, aiding, or abetting others to infringe said copyright in any way; (b) copying, duplicating, selling, licensing, displaying, distributing, preparing derivative works of the Work, or otherwise using or exploiting the Work, which Plaintiff jointly owns, without Plaintiff’s prior written consent or license to do so.”
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