Warner Bros. Wins Another Battle In Superman Copyright Suit

is reporting that Warner Bros. may have just delivered a knockout blow in their prolonged battle with the heirs of Joe Shuster over Superman's Copyright. The 9th Circuit Court of Appeals has denied the heirs a rehearing of the opinion it issued on November 21, 2013, and further denied the heirs any future rehearings. The statement said:

"The panel has voted unanimously to deny the petition for rehearing…The petition for rehearing and the petition for rehearing en banc are DENIED. No further petitions for panel or en banc rehearing will be entertained."

The previous opinion backed the District Court decision that Mark Warren Peary of the Shuster estate could not have filed a copyright termination notice 11 years ago, and affirmed Warner Bros. claim that an agreement to pay Joe Shuster's siblings $25,000 a year for the reset of their life gave the company the rights to Superman. "I've only considered that like I would an asteroid hitting us and wiping out life on earth," Peary said of losing the case to Warner Bros., which he claims his lawyer told him would never happen. This succession of rulings by the courts leave very little room left for Shuster's heirs to continue their legal battle, so perhaps the issue has finally been laid to rest.