Superboy Belongs to DC Comics

As I have previously discussed, there has been an ongoing legal battle between the heirs of the creator of superman and DC Comics. The battle now includes who holds the rights to Superboy and the 1938 ads that included the first Superman appearance. Recently, a federal court judge granted summary judgement in DC’s favor. The judge rejected the argument that the heirs made to reclaim the work. In 1938, the rights to Superman were sold for $130.

However, the heirs have tried to make use of the Copyright Act of 1976 which permits the heirs the ability to negotiate a better deal or reclaim work that the creator turned over to someone else. Jerome Siegal proposed Superboy in 1938 and later DC published Superboy without Siegal’s consent. A 9th circuit court judge held that Siegal’s heirs settlement discussions with DC created an enforceable contract that included the Superboy character although not mentioned directly. The contract was a termination notice. The judge stated that the heirs most certainly used the Superboy as leverage when coming to an agreement. The heirs contested the agreement claiming it was not a contract just a rejected draft.

See Ted Johnson, Judge Rules DC Comics Holds Rights to Superboy,1938 Superman Ads , Variety, Apr. 18, 2013.

Special thanks to Jim Hillhouse (Professional Legal Marketing (PLM, Inc.)) for bringing this article to my attention.