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Time Warner must share Superman rights
CONTROL:
After Jerome Siegel fought for decades to share in the profits generated by his character, his wife and daughter finally won back his half of the copyright this week
BLOOMBERG
Sunday, Mar 30, 2008, Page 11
Time Warner Inc, the world's largest media company, must share control its Superman copyright with the heirs of the comic hero's creator, Jerome Siegel, a US federal judge ruled.
Siegel's wife, Joanne, and their daughter, Laura Larson, won back his half of the copyright to Superman material.
Jerome Siegel and his creative partner, Joseph Shuster, granted the rights to DC Comics in 1938, a contract that expired in 1999, said US District Judge Stephen Larson in Riverside, California.
"After 70 years, Jerome Siegel's heirs regain what he granted so long ago -- the copyright in the Superman material that was published in Action Comics," Larson wrote in his March 26 order.
The victory was "no small feat indeed," Larson wrote.
Joanne Siegel's and Laura Larson's share of the profits must still be determined at trial, according to the order.
Marc Toberoff, the Siegels' lawyer, said Jerome Siegel fought for decades, without success, to share in the profits from the rights to his Superman character, which he sold with Shuster for US$130. Jerome Siegel died in 1996.
"Joanne Siegel has courageously carried the torch in this matter for decades, and this is probably the first good news she has received regarding Superman in 70 years," Toberoff said in an interview.
Time Warner spokesmen Edward Adler and Keith Cocozza didn't immediately return phone calls and e-mails seeking comment after business hours.
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