Seigel Family Wins Superman Suit

Monday, March 31, 2008
By: Ryan Ball

The heirs of Superman co-creator Jerome Siegel took Warner Bros. to court and were granted partial rights to the iconic comic-book, television, movie and merchandising franchise, according to Daily Variety. Last week’s ruling could end up costing Warner a pretty penny as it prepares to send the Man of Steel back to the big screen in a sequel to 2006’s Superman Returns and a live-action Justice League movie to be directed by Happy Feet helmer George Miller.

The decision is also likely to see a similar suit filed on behalf of the estate of Superman co-creator Joe Schuster. However, it will be another five years before Schuster’s heirs can take any legal action.

Siegel and Schuster sold the Superman rights to DC Comics 71 years ago for a mere $130, then managed to get a bit more money once the property made the leap to the screen. Attorney Marc Toberoff was able to get the Siegel estate a share of domestic revenue generated from Superman productions since 1999, which includes a cut of Superman Returns’ $200 million North American box office gross.

In a separate suit filed previously, Toberoff got a Judge to rule in favor of the family regarding the Warner Bros. television series Smallville, which centers on a teenage Clark Kent. That case was challenged by the studio and is ongoing.

Reader Comments

• muskratboy :

  Tuesday, April 01, 2008

  torn on this one... obviously DC ripped off S&S and made untold millions from their creation, so that\'s not exactly fair.
  
  at the same time, S&S are dead and gone, and their \"heirs\" sure haven\'t created anything worthwhile. why should random people who won the genetic lottery get money for something true visionaries created so many years ago?
  
  rights should end with the creator\'s death. they created it, it\'s their money. their kids didn\'t do squat, so quit whining.
  
  also, Superman Returns was a giant wasted opportunity. giving that director another shot at wasting great potential is stupid. man, that movie sucked it (compared to what it could have been.)