Superman Estate Suing to Deny Release of James Gunn’s Movie In Certain Territories

Warner Bros. Discovery and DC Entertainment/DC Comics are being sued by the estate of Superman creator Joseph Schuster to block the release of the upcoming movie by James Gunn in several territories. The lawsuit was filed today by the executor of the Superman estate, Plaintiff Mark Warren Peary, in the Southern District of New York. The suit states the estate is seeking “damages and injunctive relief for Defendants’ ongoing infringement in Canada, the United Kingdom, Ireland and Australia, as well as declaratory relief establishing the Shuster Estate’s ownership rights across relevant jurisdictions. The matter is ripe for adjudication, as Defendants are actively planning a major new Superman motion picture and other derivative works for imminent worldwide release.”

“We fundamentally disagree with the merits of the lawsuit, and will vigorously defend our rights,” a Warner Bros. Discovery spokesperson said in response. We learn that the territories in question are Canada, the United Kingdom, Ireland, and Australia.

[RELATED: Superman Movie Flight Scene Divides DC Fans, James Gunn Responds]

“At issue are foreign copyrights to the original Superman character and story, coauthored ‘on spec’ by Jerome Siegel (‘Siegel’) and Shuster. Though Siegel and Shuster assigned worldwide Superman rights to DC’s predecessor in 1938 for a mere $130 ($65 each),
the copyright laws of countries with the British legal tradition—including Canada, the United
Kingdom, Ireland, and Australia—contain provisions automatically terminating such
assignments 25 years after an author’s death, vesting in the Shuster Estate the co-author’s undivided copyright interest in such countries,” the complaint reads.

“Shuster died in 1992 and Siegel in 1996. By operation of law, Shuster’s foreign
copyrights automatically reverted to his estate in 2017 in most of these territories (and in 2021 in Canada). Yet Defendants continue to exploit Superman across these jurisdictions without the Shuster Estate’s authorization—including in motion pictures, television series, andvmerchandise—in direct contravention of these countries’ copyright laws, which require thevconsent of all joint copyright owners to do so.”

Directed by James Gunn, Superman soars into theaters on July 11th.