Superman heir pens letter to fans about fight with Warner Bros. - Polidicks

[IMG]http://i.imgur.com/GUQva.jpg[/IMG] The DC Comics character Superman has a long history of contentious legal battles over the rights and ownership of the popular and instantly-recognizable superhero. Though Superman often serves as a cautionary tale in the publishing world regarding the creator ownership of properties, many people don’t realize that the battle rages on to this day, almost 80 years after his creation. Laura Siegel Larson, the daughter of Superman co-creator Jerry Siegel and Joanne Siegel, has broken her silence about the long-running legal war with Warner Bros. Larson's parents, Jerry Siegel and Joanne Siegel, who have both passed on, are the co-creators of Superman, and according to Larson, her father's dying wish was to regain rights to the superhero he had a hand in making. She's fought for many years to "terminate" the studio's control of the Man of Steel by exploiting one aspect of copyright law. In 2008, she experienced success when a federal judge in California determined that her termination notice was valid on the first editions of [b]Action Comics[/b] that first told Superman's story. Things got ugly when DC Comics (a Warner Bros. subsidiary) decided to sue Siegel Larson as well as her lawyer Marc Toberoff for their attempts to interfere with its own rights on the franchise. This all came to a head this week when DC accused Toberoff of fraud, alleging that he intentionally withheld pertinent facts from the case. Among the claims in her note, Larson says Warner Bros. has spent some $35 million in corporate lawyers to fight her family's claim for rights. No longer able to stay silent, Larson, who worked for many years as an award-winning broadcast journalist, has decided to write a letter to Superman fans to explain her position. What follows is her full, unedited letter. [url]http://www.scribd.com/doc/109878615/LSL-Open-Letter-10-11-2012-1[/url]

The article forgets to mention that Siegel and Shuster sold the rights to Superman to DC for $130 million. They've since been trying to renegotiate the deal to try and get more since Superman became such a major character but that doesn't change the fact that they sold the rights away.

Wow, her lawyer hasn't made ANY money with this case since 2004. Not only that, he's spent tons to keep the case going.

[QUOTE=FalseLogic;38059984]Wow, her lawyer hasn't made ANY money with this case since 2004. Not only that, he's spent tons to keep the case going.[/QUOTE] He's probably hoping for a big pay off at the end of it.

Their fault for selling it off without asking for royalties.

Jerry Siegel died in 1996, 16 years ago. If it were up to me, Superman would be going into the public domain in about 4 years. That way the creator gets life + 20 years(for his/her heirs) to own all rights and benefits of their creation. What could be more fair?

[QUOTE=cecilbdemodded;38060447]Jerry Siegel died in 1996, 16 years ago. If it were up to me, Superman would be going into the public domain in about 4 years. That way the creator gets life + 20 years(for his/her heirs) to own all rights and benefits of their creation. What could be more fair?[/QUOTE] Them actually owning the rights and benefits they're due.

[QUOTE=carcarcargo;38060363]He's probably hoping for a big pay off at the end of it.[/QUOTE] Or biggest Superman fanboy ever

[QUOTE=cecilbdemodded;38060447]Jerry Siegel died in 1996, 16 years ago. If it were up to me, Superman would be going into the public domain in about 4 years. That way the creator gets life + 20 years(for his/her heirs) to own all rights and benefits of their creation. What could be more fair?[/QUOTE] I would imagine they are battling to get the rights before it enters the public domain.

[QUOTE=ThePinkPanzer;38066117]I would imagine they are battling to get the rights before it enters the public domain.[/QUOTE] Doesn't current copyright law for the creator's lifetime + 70 or so years now?

[QUOTE=Mr. Smartass;38066197]Doesn't current copyright law for the creator's lifetime + 70 or so years now?[/QUOTE] Yes, and it [url=http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Copyright_Term_Extension_Act#Political_climate]gets bigger[/url] every 10 years or so.