Superman copyright lawsuit could delay release of new Warner Bros. film
The estate of one of Superman's co-creators has filed a copyright lawsuit in a U.S. court against Warner Bros ahead of the release of its new movie Superman, part of a planned reboot of the DC Comics superhero film franchise.
The lawsuit was filed on Friday in federal court in New York City by the estate of Superman illustrator Joseph Shuster, who created the famous superhero along with writer Jerome Siegel.
The lawsuit noted that Shuster and Siegel had licensed their rights to the character to Detective Comics, the predecessor of DC Comics, now a subsidiary of Warner. The lawsuit claims that under British law, Shuster's rights reverted to his estate in 2017, 25 years after his death.
The estate accused Warner of unlawfully failing to pay royalties to use Superman in Britain, Canada, Australia and other countries outside the United States.
Shuster and Siegel and their estates have been involved in litigation with Warner over the rights to Superman for decades. The San Francisco-based 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals determined in 2013 that the creators could not reclaim their rights from Warner under U.S. law.
The new lawsuit, however, cites British law. The estate claimed that the distribution of works featuring Superman since 2017 — including movies, television shows and video games — infringes its copyright in jurisdictions based on British law.
The new Superman movie, directed by James Gunn and starring David Corenswet, is set to be released in theaters in July. The new litigation could complicate the international distribution of the film. It marks the latest salvo in a long-running legal battle over the rights to the character.
Shuster's estate is seeking monetary damages and a court order blocking Warner from depicting Superman without a license.
"We fundamentally disagree with the merits of the lawsuit, and will vigorously defend our rights," a Warner spokesperson said.
"This suit is not intended to deprive fans of their next Superman, but rather seeks just compensation for Joe Shuster's fundamental contributions as the co-creator of Superman," the estate's attorney, Marc Toberoff, said in a statement.
The lawsuit said Shuster and Siegel began creating Superman comic strips in 1934. DC's predecessor, Detective Comics, began publishing their comics in 1938.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Winnipeg Free Press
3 hours ago
- Winnipeg Free Press
A cracking good read
Oology: the study — and the cherishing — of bird eggs. The Impossible Thing is largely stock mystery thriller, yet unconventionally centred on a bunch of rabid oologists, spanning decades and decades. British mystery-writer Belinda Bauer here switches gears rather dramatically from her usual trilogy fare featuring small towns beset by far too many clever, terrifying murderers inevitably entrapped by humble heroes, and opts instead to test the limits of wrapping a 'thriller' around characters — historical and contemporary — who behave in quite crazed ways because they over-value birds' eggs, in the extreme. Jay Brooks photo Belinda Bauer was named to the Booker Prize long list for her 2018 novel, Snap. The breathless opening scene of this precious egg caper plops us into the point-of-view of an apparently good-guy sniper, utterly in the middle of chasing an obviously dastardly black hat named Matthew Barr. This hook has the scant details and the onus-on-the-reader feel of a desperately clever Cold War spy caper. It chucks in murky waves of movement, absolutely nothing of dialogue nor explanations, and a big dose of our guy's driven, nigh-maniacal inner thoughts. We quickly get our man, Matthew, and pin him down so that we might pontificate at him and his gross ideology. And here we first encounter our oological MacGuffin. Why have we been chasing Matthew as if the safety of the free world depended on our valorous efforts? Because Matthew had stolen some eggs. Cut immediately to the historical set-piece as we are flung back to the 1920s. Here, we meet and follow lovely teenage Celie Sheppard and her charmingly, painfully oafish, (Of Mice and Men's) Lennie-style friend, Robert. These two are the opposite of dastardly — they are mismatched, quaint and endearing, with a touch of pathetic. The reader can't help but adore them as they do the most unusual thing: hulking Robert ties one end of a heavy rope around himself and the other to a frighteningly makeshift sitting contraption for wee Celie, and he delicately, lovingly (you can see it coming from oh-so-afar) lowers her down through 'The Crack,' a devilishly beckoning fissure in a blood-curdling overhang that teeters atop the cliffs that survey the chilling, blustering North Sea. Why is sweet Robert dangling his beloved Celie's fragile life? Because beneath that overhang nest hundreds of guillemots. At least once a year, these otherwise ordinary seabirds settle under that dramatically protective ledge to lay their eggs, one per guillemot couple. They're beautifully coloured eggs, extraordinary in their peculiar variations of hue — no two eggs are precisely the same colour, nor sport the same intricate patterns. These snowflake eggs therefore are ridiculously valuable and insanely coveted — by keen, studious oologists, to be sure, but also by far-too-wealthy, early 20th-century British male snobs. Dainty Celie and lumbering Robert eke their way through their harsh existence by, just once a year, poaching one of those prized eggs. Jump back to the present and we meet two differently charming, very young men (although, again, the charm is purchased mostly by grand awkwardness): Patrick and Nick. Nick has a tag, one that just about captures this whole book: he's known as Weird Nick. We never really learn why, but nonetheless must agree wholeheartedly — this fellow was bestowed with an apt epithet. In any case, stashed up in the attic of Nick's mother's house is one of these vital eggs that a century ago Celie and Robert had so frightfully and fatefully retrieved. Immediately and inevitably it is stolen before poor Nick realizes the nature of the thing he was just about roosting on — and the prolonged chase scene is on. Two teenage buds who bonded over Call of Duty fling themselves into a real-life sortie, bumbling their way over harrowing hill and through daunting dale to get that darned egg back. The Impossible Thing You end up with spectacularly colourful, spectacularly invaluable 1920s eggs and the conflicting quests not only for ownership of them but also for some kind of philosophical comprehension of their essential meaning driving a — let's be honest, weirdly — gripping scramble across divergent time and rural place. It's a lot. Yet somehow, it works. In some spades. In 2018, Bauer was unexpectedly longlisted for the Booker Prize for her eighth novel, Snap. Bauer's books are hardly rarefied literature. Still, they are sporadically sprinkled with exquisite moments of diction and syntax, moments that catch one's breath, even as they are so fleeting. One can only imagine that the sum of such moments in Snap achieved some sort of critical mass that garnered Bauer the celebratory nod. Good. The Impossible Thing (Bauer's 10th book) will not likely repeat the feat. (Again: it's about frantically, irrationally chasing bird eggs.) But it oozes the charm of its quirky props and their dogged pursuers — eggs, and the oologists who adore them so. Laurence Broadhurst teaches English and religion at St. Paul's High School in Winnipeg.
Winnipeg Free Press
4 hours ago
- Winnipeg Free Press
David Attenborough's ‘Ocean' is a brutal, beautiful wakeup call from the sea
NICE, France (AP) — An ominous chain unspools through the water. Then comes chaos. A churning cloud of mud erupts as a net plows the seafloor, wrenching rays, fish and a squid from their home in a violent swirl of destruction. This is industrial bottom trawling. It's not CGI. It's real. And it's legal. 'Ocean With David Attenborough' is a brutal reminder of how little we see and how much is at stake. The film is both a sweeping celebration of marine life and a stark exposé of the forces pushing the ocean toward collapse. The British naturalist and broadcaster, now 99, anchors the film with a deeply personal reflection: 'After living for nearly a hundred years on this planet, I now understand that the most important place on Earth is not on land, but at sea.' The film traces Attenborough's lifetime — an era of unprecedented ocean discovery — through the lush beauty of coral reefs, kelp forests and deep-sea wanderers, captured in breathtaking, revelatory ways. But this is not the Attenborough film we grew up with. As the environment unravels, so too has the tone of his storytelling. 'Ocean' is more urgent, more unflinching. Never-before-seen footage of mass coral bleaching, dwindling fish stocks and industrial-scale exploitation reveals just how vulnerable the sea has become. The film's power lies not only in what it shows, but in how rarely such destruction is witnessed. 'I think we've got to the point where we've changed so much of the natural world that it's almost remiss if you don't show it,' co-director Colin Butfield said. 'Nobody's ever professionally filmed bottom trawling before. And yet it's happening practically everywhere.' The practice is not only legal, he adds, but often subsidized. 'For too long, everything in the ocean has been invisible,' Butfield said. 'Most people picture fishing as small boats heading out from a local harbor. They're not picturing factories at sea scraping the seabed.' In one harrowing scene, mounds of unwanted catch are dumped back into the sea already dead. About 10 million tons (9 million metrics tonnes) of marine life are caught and discarded each year as bycatch. In some bottom trawl fisheries, discards make up more than half the haul. Still, 'Ocean' is no eulogy. Its final act offers a stirring glimpse of what recovery can look like: kelp forests rebounding under protection, vast marine reserves teeming with life and the world's largest albatross colony thriving in Hawaii's Papahānaumokuākea Marine National Monument. These aren't fantasies; they're evidence of what the ocean can become again, if given the chance. Timed to World Oceans Day and the U.N. Ocean Conference in Nice, the film arrives amid a growing global push to protect 30% of the ocean by 2030 — a goal endorsed by more than 190 countries. But today, just 2.7% of the ocean is effectively protected from harmful industrial activity. The film's message is clear: The laws of today are failing the seas. So-called 'protected' areas often aren't. And banning destructive practices like bottom trawling is not just feasible — it's imperative. As always, Attenborough is a voice of moral clarity. 'This could be the moment of change,' he says. 'Ocean' gives us the reason to believe — and the evidence to demand — that it must be. Wednesdays Columnist Jen Zoratti looks at what's next in arts, life and pop culture. 'Ocean' premieres Saturday on National Geographic in the U.S. and streams globally on Disney+ and Hulu beginning Sunday. ___ Follow Annika Hammerschlag on Instagram @ahammergram. ___ The Associated Press receives support from the Walton Family Foundation for coverage of water and environmental policy. The AP is solely responsible for all content. For all of AP's environmental coverage, visit
CBC
14 hours ago
- CBC
A knighthood is coming for soon-to-be Sir David Beckham, according to media reports
David Beckham, the former England soccer captain who has been an ambassador for the UN children's fund for two decades, is to receive a knighthood in next week's honours list from King Charles III, according to U.K. media reports Friday. Without citing sources, BBC said Beckham is set to receive further recognition both for his soccer career, and his contributions to British society. The knighthood will make Beckham "Sir David," while his wife since 1999, former Spice Girl Victoria Beckham, will become "Lady Beckham." In 2003, Beckham was awarded the Order of the British Empire, or OBE, for services to soccer. Victoria Beckham got the same honour for services to the fashion industry in a later New Year Honours list. Honours are awarded twice a year, once at New Year's, and then in June to mark the king's birthday. They are mostly made on the recommendation of the government, though the monarch has input too. Prime Minister Keir Starmer's office would not confirm the press reports, as is custom. Buckingham Palace declined to comment. The Associated Press has not been able to independently confirm the award of the knighthood, which was first reported in The Sun tabloid newspaper. In video footage published by The Sun from the Chelsea Flower Show earlier this month, the King is seen asking Beckham if he "received his 50th birthday present." The King appeared to say "I'm glad it got to you," with Beckham responding, "It was incredible, thank you, it was very kind." Beckham and the King have crossed paths on numerous occasions, including at state functions. Last year, Beckham became an ambassador for The King's Foundation, an educational and sustainability charity Charles launched in 1990. Beckham known for sports career Beckham, who is clearly a patriot, is the only English soccer player to score at three different World Cups and his illustrious career included the treble-winning campaign of 1999, when Manchester United won the Premier League, the FA Cup and the Champions League. With 115 appearances for the England national team, Beckham is third in the all-time list. He also captained the side on 59 occasions. After leaving Manchester United 2003, Beckham played for Real Madrid, Los Angeles Galaxy and Paris Saint-Germain. He now co-owns the MLS team Inter Miami. His career wasn't always at a high, though. After the 1998 World Cup in France, Beckham was widely vilified for his petulant kick of Argentina player Diego Simeone, which saw him sent off. Many fans blamed him for England's exit. In 2023's Netflix documentary series Beckham, he described the abuse he experienced, which included an effigy of him hanging from a noose outside a London pub. "I knew it was bad at the time, but going over that whole thing was quite a tough one," he told the AP. The four-part documentary series about Beckham's life and professional career scored him an Emmy in 2024 for outstanding documentary or non-fiction series. Beckham has been a style icon and celebrity and has been a prominent supporter of charities, including UNICEF, which created the David Beckham UNICEF Fund in 2015 to mark a decade's partnership between the two. Beckham also played a pivotal role in London being awarded the Summer Olympic Games in 2012. If the knighthood is confirmed, Beckham would join an elite group of British soccer players to have been knighted, including England's 1966 World Cup winners, Geoff Hurst and Bobby Charlton, and Scotland's Kenny Dalglish.
