DC Comics v. Does, IP Worldwide, LLC, IPW, LLC, Laura Siegel Larson, Pacific Pictures Corporation, Mark Warren Peary, Joanne Siegel and Marc Toberoff
Published: Dec. 15, 2012 | Result Date: Oct. 17, 2012 | Filing Date: Jan. 1, 1900 |Case number: 2:2010-cv-03633 Summary Judgment – Plaintiff (partial)
Court
USDC Central
Attorneys
Plaintiff
Matthew T. Kline
(O'Melveny & Myers LLP)
Daniel M. Petrocelli
(O'Melveny & Myers LLP)
Cassandra Seto
(O'Melveny & Myers LLP)
Defendant
Marc Toberoff
(Toberoff & Associates PC)
Keith G. Adams
(Murphy Pearson Bradley & Feeney)
Laura W. Brill
(The Civics Center)
Facts
Joseph Shuster created Superman with Jerome Siegel. In 1938, they assigned their Superman rights to DC Comics. In 1992, Shuster's heirs entered into an agreement with DC, which recorded the earlier grant and re-granted to DC. The heirs later sent DC a copyright termination notice, prompting DC to file a lawsuit challenging the termination notice. DC filed a motion for summary judgment, arguing that the 1992 agreement signed by the heirs was binding and barred the heirs' termination notice.
Result
U.S. District Judge Otis Wright granted DC Comic's motion for partial summary judgment, invalidating the heirs' notice of termination. This ruling meant that DC's parent company, Warner Bros., would not need authorization from the co-creators' heirs to develop Superman projects.
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