Who Owns the Copyright to Superman?

Litigation is ongoing in California federal courts between the heirs of Joe Shuster, the co-creator of the famous Superman comic book, and DC Comics, the division of Warner Bros. that held the rights to the Superman comics for more than 60 years. The case, which began in 2010, involves a convoluted series of copyright agreements and near agreements, complete with claims of unethical conduct by the heirs’ attorney, Marc Toberoff, a Hollywood insider. At issue presently is the effect of a 1992 agreement that, according to DC Comics, forfeited the heirs’ termination/clawback rights with respect to the Superman copyrights. Ultimately, the court will decide who owns the copyrights in the Superman comics, a piece of intellectual property that is worth millions.

Via Arent Fox LLP. Great article.

Tags: arent fox, art, comics, Copyright, copyright transfer, dc comics, intellectual property, Litigation, superman