Warner Bros Fights Back: Moves to Dismiss International ‘Superman’ Copyright Lawsuit

Warner Bros. Discovery and DC Comics are seeking to dismiss a lawsuit concerning the “Superman” copyrights in international markets, stating that the matter has been extensively resolved in prior cases.

Mark Peary, the nephew of Superman’s deceased co-creator Joe Shuster, initiated the lawsuit in January. He aimed to challenge the studio’s copyrights in the UK, Canada, Australia, and Ireland. This legal battle could potentially disrupt the scheduled July release of “Superman”, starring David Corenswet and directed by James Gunn.

Warner Bros. filed a motion to dismiss on Wednesday, pointing out that Peary’s allegations have been consistently dismissed by the courts. They highlighted that Jean Peavy, Peary’s mother, relinquished all rights to the Superman character following Shuster’s death in 1992.

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Daniel Petrocelli, representing Warner Bros., stated, “Peary’s complaint fails on every ground.” On the other hand, Marc Toberoff, representing the estate, contended that copyright assignments in the discussed overseas territories expire automatically 25 years after the author’s death. He brought the case to a federal court in New York, asserting that U.S. courts have jurisdiction over this international dispute since the U.S. is a party to the Berne Convention.

However, Petrocelli countered that the Berne Convention does not apply in U.S. courts and argued for the case’s dismissal due to lack of jurisdiction. He also noted that a federal judge in Los Angeles had previously rejected the Shuster estate’s claims, a decision that was upheld by the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals in 2013.

Warner Bros. also summarized the numerous legal disputes regarding Superman since Shuster and Jerome Siegel initially sold the rights for $130 in 1938. According to the studio, since that transaction, the creators and their heirs have received substantial sums, adjusted for inflation, through royalties and other payments.

Following Shuster’s death, his sole heir—his sister—requested that DC Comics settle his debts and increase her survivor benefits, which DC Comics agreed to, raising her annual payments from $5,000 to $25,000 for her lifetime. This agreement was stated to “fully settle all claims” related to Shuster’s copyrights and trademarks.

In 2013, the 9th Circuit ruled that this agreement barred any attempts by the estate to revoke the copyright. Despite this, Toberoff argued that the 9th Circuit’s decision applied only to U.S. copyright law and did not address Peary’s rights in other countries. The lawsuit invokes the “Dickens provision” of U.K. copyright law, which Toberoff claims is also applicable in other countries including Canada, Australia, Ireland, Israel, Singapore, Hong Kong, India, New Zealand, and South Africa.

Petrocelli responded by emphasizing that the 1992 agreement encompassed “all rights,” including those in foreign territories. He stated, “There are no carve-outs in the controlling 1992 agreement for any foreign copyrights, much less for the copyrights in the 10 countries Peary now alleges in the Complaint.”

Warner Bros. filed their motion to dismiss nearly three weeks before the required deadline of March 24. They requested that if the case is not dismissed, it should be transferred to the Los Angeles judge who previously managed it.

Superman is set to enter the public domain in 2034.

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Blake Harrison

With a knack for uncovering hidden gems, Blake dives deep into the world of indie films and underground cinema.