U.S. Supreme Court Passes on DC/Shuster Dispute

On the heels of the news that Marvel and the family of Jack Kirby had reached a settlement before the litigation could go before the Supreme Court, we now get word that SCOTUS has passed on hearing the cast of the Joe Shuster Estate vs. DC Comics.

In November 2013, the Ninth Circuit ruled that Shuster’s nephew, Mark Peavy, had no standing to reclaim Joe Shuster’s stake in the copyright of Action Comics #1, per a clause in the 1976 U.S. Copyright Act. In an agreement made in 1992, the Shuster estate gave up claims to the intellectual property in exchange for over $600,000 and “other benefits” that included paying Shuster’s debts following his death. Shuster’s sister, Jean Peavy, and brother Frank also were given an annual pension.

In October 2012, U.S. District Judge Otis D. Wright ruled that the 1992 agreement invalidated a copyright termination notice filed in 2003 by Shuster’s nephew. Then in January 2013, the Ninth Circuit also overturned a 2008 decision granting the heirs of Jerry Siegel his fifty percent share of copyright to the Superman character.

In June, the Shuster estate filed a petition with the Supreme Court after the Ninth Circuit denied a hearing on the case, arguing that the original deal with Shuster’s siblings was invalid because the right to terminate copyright didn’t extend to siblings until the 1998 Copyright Extension Act. Therefore, DC technically still owned the property because Shuster’s brother and sister wouldn’t have had the right to terminate in 1992.

With the U.S. Supreme Court passing on the case, the decision from November 2013 stands. Which means the fight between the Shuster estate and DC Comics is effectively over, and DC Comics officially owns the rights to Superman and related characters and situations originated in Action Comics #1. The Siegel estate will likely be filing an appeal in their particular case, so it’s not entirely over. But this part seems to have been put to bed.