The implications that extend across all work-for-hire in the comics industry
...are smaller than you think. The core of the Siegel lawsuit is that Siegel and Shuster created Superman before they began working for DC. (He was originally intended for a comic strip, but they decided to sell him to DC for publication later.)
Changes to the United States Copyright Act in the mid-70s gave creators one-time rights to request control of copyrighted works they sold in the years prior (on the basis that, given the change in copyright law - notably the extension for which works remained in private domain - they might have chosen not to sell).
The Superboy and Superman lawsuits over the past twenty-plus years have been basically one long case of DC Comics being moneygrubbing assholes, because on the merits of the case Siegel and Shuster had this one on the bag, and DC/Time-Warner have simply been fighting a stall game for as long as possible on the basis that the $1 billion (yes, billion) per year Superman franchise generated more money than it cost them to pay lawyers to stall.
In terms of implications for the comic industry as a whole - not much, because this isn't a landmark decision or anything. Most of the major work-for-hire properties have been settled or established (Kirby and Simon on Captain America, Bill Kane on Batman, etc.). Maybe Steve Gerber's estate can make a case for Howard the Duck, as I've heard he invented the concept independently of Marvel, but for most properties in comics it will generally be very hard to prove that the work was not created on a work-for-hire basis.
In terms of the implications for Superman, they too are less than you think. Yes, the Siegel and Shuster estates now control the copyright of Superman, but copyright for most of Superman's fellow-concepts - such as Lois Lane, Lex Luthor, Metropolis, The Daily Planet, et cetera - rest firmly in DC's hands. (Copyright in this regard is a bitch to navigate - Superman's copyright covers his relationships with the aforementioned, but not necessarily the aforementioned.) More importantly, DC Comics completely controls and owns the trademarks for Superman - the big red S, the curvy-text Superman logo, the costume, and so forth.
The major point is that Siegel and Shuster's estate will now be owed back pay, I believe, on their rights as owners of the Superman copyright. That will, of course, be contested by DC as well, and on reasonable grounds (namely the "look, we did all the work for all those years" argument, which is not invalid).
However, DC will have to start forking over monies generated by Superman, most notably those from Smallville - prior to this decision, DC was holding out that Smallville was a show about a "young Superman" rather than "Superboy," to evade paying the Siegels their share of profits from the show since the decision that put the rights to Superboy in the hands of the Siegels last year. The point, obviously, is now moot.
Of course, they won't fork over everything, because DC is responsible for producing the show and the Siegel estate doesn't want to bother with that work. It'll be a straight-up profit-sharing deal.
...this really should have been a post on mgk.com, but fuck it...
![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
no subject
Date: 2008-03-29 02:50 am (UTC)...are smaller than you think. The core of the Siegel lawsuit is that Siegel and Shuster created Superman before they began working for DC. (He was originally intended for a comic strip, but they decided to sell him to DC for publication later.)
Changes to the United States Copyright Act in the mid-70s gave creators one-time rights to request control of copyrighted works they sold in the years prior (on the basis that, given the change in copyright law - notably the extension for which works remained in private domain - they might have chosen not to sell).
The Superboy and Superman lawsuits over the past twenty-plus years have been basically one long case of DC Comics being moneygrubbing assholes, because on the merits of the case Siegel and Shuster had this one on the bag, and DC/Time-Warner have simply been fighting a stall game for as long as possible on the basis that the $1 billion (yes, billion) per year Superman franchise generated more money than it cost them to pay lawyers to stall.
In terms of implications for the comic industry as a whole - not much, because this isn't a landmark decision or anything. Most of the major work-for-hire properties have been settled or established (Kirby and Simon on Captain America, Bill Kane on Batman, etc.). Maybe Steve Gerber's estate can make a case for Howard the Duck, as I've heard he invented the concept independently of Marvel, but for most properties in comics it will generally be very hard to prove that the work was not created on a work-for-hire basis.
In terms of the implications for Superman, they too are less than you think. Yes, the Siegel and Shuster estates now control the copyright of Superman, but copyright for most of Superman's fellow-concepts - such as Lois Lane, Lex Luthor, Metropolis, The Daily Planet, et cetera - rest firmly in DC's hands. (Copyright in this regard is a bitch to navigate - Superman's copyright covers his relationships with the aforementioned, but not necessarily the aforementioned.) More importantly, DC Comics completely controls and owns the trademarks for Superman - the big red S, the curvy-text Superman logo, the costume, and so forth.
The major point is that Siegel and Shuster's estate will now be owed back pay, I believe, on their rights as owners of the Superman copyright. That will, of course, be contested by DC as well, and on reasonable grounds (namely the "look, we did all the work for all those years" argument, which is not invalid).
However, DC will have to start forking over monies generated by Superman, most notably those from Smallville - prior to this decision, DC was holding out that Smallville was a show about a "young Superman" rather than "Superboy," to evade paying the Siegels their share of profits from the show since the decision that put the rights to Superboy in the hands of the Siegels last year. The point, obviously, is now moot.
Of course, they won't fork over everything, because DC is responsible for producing the show and the Siegel estate doesn't want to bother with that work. It'll be a straight-up profit-sharing deal.
...this really should have been a post on mgk.com, but fuck it...