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.
To many, Tatu City on the outskirts of Nairobi looks like a success. The first city entirely built by a private company to be operational in east Africa, with about 25,000 people living and working there, it accounts for about two-thirds of all foreign investment in Kenya. Its low-tax status has attracted more than 100 businesses including Heineken, coffee brand Dormans, and the biggest call-center and cold-chain transport firms in the region. However, to some local politicians, Tatu City has looked more like a target for extortion. A parade of governors have demanded land worth millions of dollars in exchange
Hong Kong authorities ramped up sales of the local dollar as the greenback’s slide threatened the foreign-exchange peg. The Hong Kong Monetary Authority (HKMA) sold a record HK$60.5 billion (US$7.8 billion) of the city’s currency, according to an alert sent on its Bloomberg page yesterday in Asia, after it tested the upper end of its trading band. That added to the HK$56.1 billion of sales versus the greenback since Friday. The rapid intervention signals efforts from the city’s authorities to limit the local currency’s moves within its HK$7.75 to HK$7.85 per US dollar trading band. Heavy sales of the local dollar by
Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co’s (TSMC, 台積電) revenue jumped 48 percent last month, underscoring how electronics firms scrambled to acquire essential components before global tariffs took effect. The main chipmaker for Apple Inc and Nvidia Corp reported monthly sales of NT$349.6 billion (US$11.6 billion). That compares with the average analysts’ estimate for a 38 percent rise in second-quarter revenue. US President Donald Trump’s trade war is prompting economists to retool GDP forecasts worldwide, casting doubt over the outlook for everything from iPhone demand to computing and datacenter construction. However, TSMC — a barometer for global tech spending given its central role in the
An Indonesian animated movie is smashing regional box office records and could be set for wider success as it prepares to open beyond the Southeast Asian archipelago’s silver screens. Jumbo — a film based on the adventures of main character, Don, a large orphaned Indonesian boy facing bullying at school — last month became the highest-grossing Southeast Asian animated film, raking in more than US$8 million. Released at the end of March to coincide with the Eid holidays after the Islamic fasting month of Ramadan, the movie has hit 8 million ticket sales, the third-highest in Indonesian cinema history, Film
RSS