Seigel versus DC Comics

The comic book industry was rocked by a historic ruling on March 26, 2008 from the Federal District Court in the Central District of California. The judge ruled that the Siegel heirs have copyright interests in the content of Action Comics #1. The award was only limited to Action Comics #1 because that was all the work that Shuster and Siegel performed for DC before signing the contract that assigned all their rights to Superman over to DC.

This is a huge decision, but the battle is far from over. I am sure that Time Warner is going to appeal this decision. So it will be some time before we get a final ruling on this matter. This ruling involves some highly complex Copyright laws. And I’m not going to try and explain them in great detail. My area of law that I practice is workers’ rights, civil rights and discrimination, not copyright and trademark law. But, I will give you a quick summation of what might interest the typical comic book reader.

Before I begin, if you want to read a wonderfully written FAQ by Jeff Trexler at uncivilsociety.org then check it out right here. This excellent FAQ hits all the highlights of the ruling and answers the typical questions your average comic reader will have. And it is all written in layman terms. And if you are really feeling plucky then uncivilsociety.org has been so kind to put the judge’s ruling in a .pdf that you can check out right here if you feel like reading the 72 page decision. You can also check out Newsarama’s take on the outcome of this ruling right here.

As a practical matter, though, the Judge did rule that the Siegel heirs are not entitled to a share of the foreign profits from Superman. Foreign profits would be outside the scope of the Federal Copyright Act. The Judge also declined to award the Siegel heirs profits gained from the use of Superman trademarks that are purely attributable to those trademark rights.

Also, important in this ruling is that each holder of a copyright interest must account to any others for any profits gained from exploiting the copyright, and no partial copyright holder can transfer exclusive rights without consent of the others holding a copyright interest. The Judge was clearly concerned that the close relationships between DC and its corporate relatives like Time Warner that may have produced sweetheart deals far below market value for the use of Superman for other products outside of the realm of comic books.

Now, there is still the issue of figuring out how much of the revenue that the Siegel heirs would be entitled to from modern use of the Superman copyright. Since the Siegel heirs’ copyright claims only extend to the material in Action Comics #1 that leaves out tons of classic Superman character like Lex Luthor and other parts of Superman’s mythos developed after this one issue. This also excludes many of Superman’s other powers that he gained after Action Comics #1.

What is the immediate and practical effect of this ruling is probably what the majority of comic book readers are wondering. The answer is little to none. Under this award, the Siegel heirs would have no creative control over Superman. Even if this ruling is upheld, then between now and 2013, I would expect things will stay the same.

Time Warner has no choice but to fight this to the bitter end. Time Warner needs to work hard on the appeal and try to get this decision overturned. And the reason that Time Warner has to win this on appeal is because if the ruling survives a Time Warner legal challenge, it may also open the door to a similar reversion of rights to the estates of Shuster and Siegel in 2013. That would give heirs of the two creators control over use of Superman until at least 2033, and possibly longer if Congress once again extends copyright terms.

Of course, Time Warner could always try and negotiate a settlement. Obviously, there is going to have to be some sort of compromise. If the Siegel heirs win the copyright to Superman, but DC retains the trademark to Superman then the two sides will have to work together or else neither party will be able to publish a Superman comic book. I don’t think that comic book readers have to worry about this ruling impacting if there is a Superman comic book on the market or not. Obviously, if Time Warner loses the appeal then the profitability of Superman’s character takes a real hit. But, I would imagine that since international profits are unaffected by this ruling that Superman will continue to be the centerpiece of the DCU.

Personally, I’m glad that the Siegel’s won this ruling. Obviously, I’m biased since I practice law that favors the rights of the individual over the rights of corporations and the government. This certainly should continue to be an intriguing story to watch unfold over the next couple of years. And to think that we still have the separate Superboy lawsuit to monitor as well.