Who owns SUPERMAN?

[Khephra]

Quiet for the past few years, the focus in the Superman copyright case has shifted from Superman to Superboy, and the battle for the right to Superman is joined by a Shuster.

With the bubbling finally coming to a boil, there have been several recent developments in the matter regarding the rights to Superman, and his creators (represented by their heirs and in one case, widow). Long-time Newsarama readers will recall that in 1998, the widow and daughter of Superman co-creator Jerry Siegel filed paperwork terminating the transfer of copyright for Superman that the creators made to DC Comics. Reportedly, the Siegels were in negotiation with DC in regards to the rights, and those negotiations were never settled, and the rights to Superman are still in dispute.

Now, add the boy. The Superboy, that is. According to various sources, Joanne Siegel and Laura Siegel Larson filed paperwork to terminate the transfer of copyright for Superboy. The paperwork was filed in November of 2002. Given the mandatory two years’ notice, the termination will be fully effective on November 17, 2004.

The case made for Superboy dates back to the early ‘40s, when Jerry Siegel created and submitted the idea of a Superman spin-off, Superboy to DC Comics. DC did not act to publish or further develop the character until Siegel was drafted into service in World War II, a time during which, Siegel often stated, he in no way could protect his interests in the character(s) he’d created.

http://www.newsarama.com/pages/DC/sUPERMAN_bATTLE.htm