The estate of Superman co-creator Joe Shuster sued DC Comics and Warner Bros. on Friday, seeking to invalidate the companies’ copyrights in several foreign markets.
The suit revives a long-running dispute that was last addressed by the 9th Circuit Court of Appeal in 2013. The court rejected the Shuster estate’s attempt to cancel the Superman copyright, finding that Shuster’s sister had signed away his termination right after his death in 1992.
In the new case, the estate’s attorney, Marc Toberoff, asserts claims under copyright laws in the U.K., Canada, Ireland and Australia. The suit comes months before Warner Bros. Discovery will release “Superman” this summer, relaunching the valuable franchise and starting a planned cinematic universe of DC characters.
In the suit, filed in the Southern District of New York, Toberoff argues that the copyright reverted to the Shuster estate in most of those countries in 2017, and in Canada in 2021.
“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,” Toberoff wrote.
Through a spokesperson, Warner Bros., which owns DC, said it will fight in court.
“We fundamentally disagree with the merits of the lawsuit, and will vigorously defend our rights,” the spokesperson said.
Shuster and Jerome Siegel created Superman and sold the rights for $130 in 1938. Siegel died in 1996; the heirs of both creators have sought to reclaim the rights since then.
Toberoff has been involved in those efforts since 2001. DC sued him in 2010, accusing him of seeking to enrich himself by wrongfully working with the creators’ estates to try to wrest control of Superman. The company ultimately prevailed in a 2-1 ruling at the 9th Circuit.
Toberoff argues in the complaint that the previous litigation was limited to termination rights under the U.S. Copyright Act, and does not affect the estate’s overseas copyrights.
The suit states that under the copyright laws in the U.K. and the other countries at issue, the rights to Superman automatically reverted to the estates 25 years after the creators’ deaths.
Toberoff argues that the U.S. District Court has jurisdiction over the dispute in part due to the Berne Convention, the international treaty which the U.S. joined in 1988.
Among other things, the suit seeks an order blocking Warner Bros. from distributing “Superman” in the U.K. and other disputed territories without first obtaining a license from the estate.
“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,” Toberoff said in a press release. “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.”
