DC Keeps Rights To Superman

[hippie_hunter]

yep.......That's all.....and DC would not have felt it....

Seriously? Warner Bros. would have so felt it by losing the Superman copyright by losing out millions, if not billions, of merchandising and licensing rights and they would have had to shell out even more money to license the Superman character from the Siegels in a time where comics are not a big money maker.

 

[ThDWgeek]

This is a complex case, at least in my eyes. While I'd like the heirs of Siegel and Shuster to get the compensation they deserve, I'm also really glad that Superman isn't going anywhere or being used any less. It's just a massive shame that Siegel and Shuster got screwed over they way they did in the first place.

 

[Czar Colossus]

Yeah it's a big ol' mess!
I think it also had an impact on why Superman's look had to change (to its horrible current state) to distance itself from the original concept, giving DC even more leverage in showing the difference from Siegel's and Shuster's concept.
In the end the creators did deserve more; God rest their souls.

 

[Shazam]

Yeah it's a big ol' mess!
I think it also had an impact on why Superman's look had to change (to its horrible current state) to distance itself from the original concept, giving DC even more leverage in showing the difference from Siegel's and Shuster's concept.
In the end the creators did deserve more; God rest their souls.

Exactly! That's all I'm saying......and the way that can be done is to do right by the family they left behind......

 

[hippie_hunter]

Without a doubt DC screwed over Siegel and Shuster and their families deserve more. But their lawyer is such a crook that they would have just been screwed over even more. If the Siegel and Shuster families won, the lawyer would have come out on top with owing 51% of the Superman copyright.

 

[Czar Colossus]

Yeah it's too bad how that **** sometimes works out. I'm sure we all understand the need for legal council and the protection of certain rights, but copyrights always seem to be a mess and a lot of times it's the fans/consumers that get the short end. (As in the current revised Superman and Captain Marvel now being called by SHAZAM).

 

[Shazam]

Without a doubt DC screwed over Siegel and Shuster and their families deserve more. But their lawyer is such a crook that they would have just been screwed over even more. If the Siegel and Shuster families won, the lawyer would have come out on top with owning 51% of the Superman copyright.

How would the lawyer own it?? He's working for the Siegal & Shuster family...right?

 

[hippie_hunter]

How would the lawyer own it?? He's working for the Siegal & Shuster family...right?

The way it's set up, if the Siegels and Shusters lose, their lawyer Marc Toberoff gets nothing. If they win, Toberoff gets 47.5% of the copyright while the remaining 52.5% is split between the Siegels and Shusters. For some reason I thought it was 51% for Toberoff. Toberoff is also a Hollywood movie producer, he successfully sued to get My Favorite Martian and then became a produce for the movie made by Disney.

Turns out that Toberoff pissed off one of his employees and in retaliation with the motive to destroy his former boss, the disgruntled employee leaked all sorts of documents that include how he would get compensated for his services, consent agreements that say that the Siegels and Shusters cannot negotiate with Warner Bros. without Toberoff, and a letter from one of Siegel's sons. Michael Siegel refused to take part in the lawsuit because he doesn't trust Toberoff and wrote a letter to his sister telling her that he has ulterior motives to get the copyright for himself

 

[Czar Colossus]

....and there you go....thanks hunter for that insight; very informative.