O.o
headdesk

What, a pin-up? I know he’s done a couple of Batman ones for various anniversary issues - but is that a full blown story?

Jeez, why can’t I remember this stuff anymore?

~

Coat

28 years … PLUS 28 years renewal for properties created during or before 1977. Congress extended it to 28+28+17=75 years … then extended it again to 95 years.

Disney is lobbying big time. They want the mouse to remain their’s an no one else’s.

So … Superman’s first appearance would have enetered public domain in 1994 … then it was pushed back, via copyright extention, to 2014 … and now 2034 …

The interesting part to me is that some people are decrying the copyright extention as illegal. Congress did it to benefit the corporate fatcats … but some are arguing that the copyright extension should not be retroactive. I wonder how many people automatically assume “This was created 56 years ago, it must be pulic domain”, then find themselves on the business end of a lawsuit when they reprint something. Most people seem to believe that copyright law hinges on their feelings, and not the actual law.

But the copyright has been extended repeatedly since then, which is horribly unfair to the creators. If they knew DC would still have exclusive rights to the character 70 years later, a much different deal might have been worked out. Due to changes in copyright law the companies that bought characters now generate MUCH more money off them, because they own them for a much longer period than original intended.

But none of that extra income is going to the creators of said characters. That’s called getting screwed and it’s not the creators fault that the politicians changed the terms of the deal after the contract was signed and agreed upon. Which is why there is now a law allowing for creators to get their copyrights back.

Barring any more extensions of the duration of copyright protection, Superman, at least in his original form, will enter the public domain in 2033. That is, assuming Disney doesn’t pay off more members of Congress to extend the time period that trademarks can exist. Otherwise characters like Mickey Mouse would already be a part of the public domain…

This is potentially a huge deal - DC/Warners makes a LOT of money on Superman (comics, movies, “Smallville”, licensing, cartoons, etc.) , and if the Siegels prove to the court that the Superman copyright is indeed theirs, DC would be ordered to pay up.

Even if they win the copyrights, DC still has the trademarks, so it’s not like they can license Superman to Marvel, for example. Around 2013 or so, Superman is scheduled to pass into public domain anyway, but again, DC still holds the trademarks so nobody can really do much with the character without violating the trademarks.

In my non-lawyerly opinion from reading what’s been publicly available, I forsee the Siegels winning the case and licensing (or selling) all rights back to DC for a hefty sum.

Superman #400

KB, - congress redid the rights law when they changed the copyright law.
Congress gave back the rights to freelance creators after a set period of time. So what they signed away decades ago, has no effect on their new rights. DC has settled (and paid off) many creators for the rights to their 30s-40s creations in the past few years. This law is also why Marvel denies that Jack Kirby and Steve Ditko co-created anything in the 1960s - (Lee was not freelance so the law doesnt apply to him)

~

Coat

Usually publishers have creators over the barrel legally and creators get screwed. However, Siegel and Shuster have some pretty good legal arguments that are totally valid. Namely that DC failed to properly file copyright forms concerning Superman and under US law Superman might revert back to the original owners.

Some people have little sympathy for Siegel and Shuster. They sold their character for a song and failed to forsee its longterm worth, and their miscalculation would be something that they would just have to live with as a poor business decision. If true, doesn’t that mean DC’s inability for see the longterm legal ramifications of not filing the proper legal paperwork was a miscalculation that they’re going to have to live with?

Ok, seriously, Siegel and Shuster signed away the rights decades ago. Why are their families fighting for this? It comes down to greed. Give them some money and they’ll go away.