Foreign Copyright Lawsuit Against Warner Bros. And ‘Superman’ Is Tossed – Release Overseas No Longer Jeopardized
In a bit of good news for James Gunn, DC/Warner, and their Superman reboot that’s closing in on its theatrical release, there will be no looming legal obstructions. The release can go ahead as planned unencumbered as a lawsuit against the studio and film has been thrown out.
Earlier this year, the suit was brought before a federal court by the late Superman co-creator Joe Shuster’s nephew, Warren Peary. He and his attorney Marc Toberoff claimed that Warner Bros. did not have the right to release the new film in territories within the British Commonwealth and adjacent spheres of influence.
Peary and Toberoff argued this restriction owes to copyright laws of countries with the British legal tradition containing certain “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 ground this covers includes the UK, Ireland, Australia, and even Canada.
US District Judge Jesse M. Furman disagreed, according to Bloomberg, and had the case dismissed, stating that the court has no jurisdiction in this matter. Additionally, Peary and his party’s request to block the release of Superman was deemed irrelevant and beneath consideration when the case is no longer moving forward.
Under UK and Commonwealth copyright laws the rights to a character would revert to the estate of its creator 25 years after death. In this instance, that clause would apply to Joe Shuster who died in 1992. Peary’s complaint sought to block Superman‘s release on the grounds of copyright infringement.
Peary could submit his case again, theoretically. However, he might have to file suit in the courts of each individual country named in the complaint, and that submits to British copyright statutes. That would be a very complex and expensive gambit if he decides to regroup and redouble his efforts down the road.
That probably won’t happen anytime soon, so odds are good nothing is going to keep the Man of Tomorrow from taking flight this summer to do battle with Lex Luthor and his army of monkey Twitter bots.
