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February 11, 2016: Warner Bros. Wins Latest Chapter of Battle Over Superman Rights
Posted by Neil Cole
In the latest chapter of the never-ending battle over the rights to the character of Superman, the Los Angeles Ninth Circuit Court has rejected yet another appeal request by Laura Siegel Larson, daughter of co-creator Jerome Siegel, and the heirs of the Siegel Estate.
Ruling once again in favor of Warner Bros. and DC Comics, the court reaffirmed a lower court's prior decision that the Siegel heirs agreed to hand over their Superman rights to the studio in a letter from 2001.
In the three-judge panel's 8-page per curiam, unpublished opinion, the Circuit held that "Larson has failed to show that she was in any way prejudiced by the 2001 agreement, through which the Siegels reassigned the purportedly recaptured rights to DC in exchange for substantial compensation."
The panel also rejected Larson's argument on remand that her mother, Joanne Siegel, had rescinded the 2001 agreement in letters sent in 2002, and that DC acquiesced in the rescission.
"As the district court noted, permitting Larson to raise these arguments now would substantially prejudice DC," the opinion said.
Since Joanne Siegel has since died, the Circuit held "DC would have to change its defense strategy, conduct new discovery, and the litigation would effectively have to begin all over."
Read more about the recent ruling at CourtHouseNews.com
