Superman's creator's heirs awarded copyright in Action Comics #1
Jeff Trexler says:
I've posted the judge's entire ruling.
Here's the historic concluding paragraph:
LinkAfter seventy years, Jerome Siegel’s heirs regain what he granted so long ago -– the copyright in the Superman material that was published in Action Comics Vol. 1. What remains is an apportionment of profits, guided in some measure by the rulings contained in this Order, and a trial on whether to include the profits generated by DC Comics’ corporate sibling’s exploitation of the Superman copyright.
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Great, awarded a copyright on something that should have expired in 1994 at the latest.
Back in 1938, when Action Comics #1 was created, copyright was supposed to last for 28 years, with a renewal for a second 28 year period possible if you asked for it when the first period was running out.
This is an extraordinarily complicated case. DC still has half the copyright, there will still be appeals by DC/Warner, and any suit over licenses and payments could take aother decade.
I'm with @1. Screw the heirs, and screw DC Comics. The man is long dead.
Okay, so what's with Superman? Looks like he's totally freaking out, tossing sedans at CEOs. And that guy in the lower left-hand corner . . . What's on his mind? Could it possibly be . . ."MY EMPIRE IS CRUMBLING!" ?
Actually, Dustin, as he was originally created by Siegel and Shuster, Superman was more of a populist, going after corporate graft and corruption. Obviously, once he became owned lock, stock and barrel by a corporation, to say nothing of a national refocus with the advent of WWII, he turned his x-ray gaze onto more nebulous international affairs and, once those were resolved, more fantastical issues.
I don't think this will impact DC's bottom line much, just that all future reprints of ACTION COMICS #1 will likely need to share the profits with Jerry Siegel's family. There is an outstanding issue with the status of the original Superboy, who is actually now eeeevil in the comics and a member of the yellow Sinestro Corps in Green Lantern. Coincidentally, there was some noise being made about the legal status of Captain America, and not long thereafter Marvel knocked him off and replaced him with his former sidekick in a streamlined (read: hideous) costume.
But I'm sure that's just an amazing coincidence.
How do these people deserve this? By virtue of being a descendant of someone creative? What rubbish; make it public domain NOW
...Oh boy. Another disaster brought on by Siegel heir greed. The last money grab they pulled off resulted in Superboy getting axed, now I can see DC panicking and start monkeying around with the Big Red S to change him enough so that he's no longer anything that resembles Superman.
Enough is enough. Get a judge in on this mess that understands a) copyright law, and b) the fans are more important than a couple of greedy grandkids!
Superboy isn't evil. Superboy /Prime/ is evil. And the Superman created by Seigel died once and for all in Infinite Crisis. The current Superman is Earth One Superman, Earth One actually comin after Earth Two. Both [and many other Earths] were destroyed in the first crisis.
Public Domain was never in the cards, and considering how shite DC editorial policy tends to be, and how hard DC screwed Seigel, I personally applaud the decision. If it had come out during the week I would read and comment on the decision, but there's no reason to kill time on the weekend.
Timing is funny, though, as Grant Morrison is currently masterminding a massive shake-up of the DC universe. Wouldn't be sad to see Superman bite the dust [I don't think he has had a solo comic for ages, apart from all stars]. Would be particularly nice if Luthor, Batman, Bizzaro, and Green Arrow teamed up to deliver the coup de grace.
Scottfree - "Wouldn't be sad to see Superman bite the dust [I don't think he has had a solo comic for ages, apart from all stars]."
Superman appears by himself monthly in Action Comics and Superman, continuously published since the 30s; bi-monthly or so in Superman Confidential and All Star Superman. . .as well as Superman/Batman, JLA and guest starring other places.
Reading through the opinion now - If _someone_ should own Superman (not that I agree with that premise), I think it should be the Seigels. Read the opinion, DC's been screwing them for years.
My favorite sentence in the decision: "The Court thus concludes that defendants may continue to exploit the image of a person with extraordinary strength who wears a black and white leotard and cape."
It's also worth mentioning that if you want a digital copy of Action Comics #1 in its entirety (well, all the parts by Siegel and Shuster), you can get one by downloading this decision.
Belldl,
Amend that to solo comic worth reading. That said, maybe I haven't looked, but I certainly haven't seen any Supermans in a place of prominence in my local shop. I'm a bit selective about superhero comics. I started reading the new green Arrow last summer and quit in disgust a few months later.
#10
A mystery man who may or may not be superman is just what DC would do as well. I remember reading a copy of Action Comics #1, and there's a brilliant panel of Superman punching someone into a wall while announcing his masculinity, at which I laughed out loud. It also had a sweet pseudo scientific segment to explain Superman's strength.
I've always maintained the only reason Dark Knight Returns is worth reading is the extended sequence where Batman beats the snot out of Superman. Come on DC: do it for real.
The second page of the ruling mentions the first "Super-Man" created by Siegel and Shuster who is, I believe, in the public domain. (That "Super-Man" is a bald-headed villain with mental powers. He has little in common with the Superman created for Action Comics a few years later, besides the name and the wielding of some sort of special power. I suspect his copyright status has no effect on the Superman we know now, and a quick skim of the ruling doesn't turn up any special consideration of it from the judge.)
That first "Super-Man" story is now online, along with the rest of the zine in which it appeared, at
http://www.uflib.ufl.edu/UFDC/UFDC.aspx?c=psa1&m=hd4J&i=55836
And the first Superman story from Action Comics is actually in the linked file, as an appendix to the ruling.
They paid Siegel and Shuster $130 for Superman.