Siegel’s Heirs Receive a Share of Superman Copyright

According to Michael Cieply, Ruling Gives Heirs a Share of Superman Copyright, NYTimes.com, March 29, 2008:

A federal judge here on Wednesday ruled that the heirs of Jerome Siegel — who 70 years ago sold the rights to the action hero he created with Joseph Shuster to Detective Comics for $130 — were entitled to claim a share of the United States copyright to the character.***

[T]he ruling threatened to complicate Warner’s plans to make more films featuring Superman, including another sequel and a planned movie based on the DC Comics’ “Justice League of America,” in which he joins Batman, Wonder Woman and other superheroes to battle evildoers.***

[T]he judge’s 72-page order described how Mr. Siegel and Mr. Shuster, as teenagers*** worked together on a short story, “The Reign of the Superman,” in which their famous character first appeared not as hero, but villain.***

When Detective Comics bought 13 pages of work for its new Action Comics series the next year, the company sent Mr. Siegel a check for $130, and received in return a release from both creators granting the company rights to Superman “to have and hold forever,” the order noted.

Special thanks to Joel Dobris (Professor of Law, UC Davis School of Law) for bringing this article to my attention.