I am not sure what I make of this. On the one hand, DC owes a great debt to Siegel and Shuster. And it’s a crime that the creators of Superman never got more than a cup of coffee, really, for creating the most iconic super-hero ever.
So I cannot disagree with the joy expressed by Chris Butcher on such a landmark decision. As a creative person, this is definitely a “holy sh**” court decision. It’s impressive, considering DC probably had enough firepower to make a “strong” case that they should not lose any control over Superman.
What does this mean for the character? I don’t know…the last time DC lost the rights to a character name to the Siegel estate, they just killed him. I can’t imagine DC would ever kill Superman (wait…). I am assuming they will either fight this or they will work out a deal with the Siegel Estate. It is worth noting that the Estate does not appear to have sole rights in this decision, they have a share(and not the international rights). So, the real question is, is Time Warner willing to pay out to keep using the character in comics? I would be the answer is yes, and if they do not win any appeals, they will work it out with the Siegels. Because they have to.

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March 29, 2008 at 11:54 pm
Will "Filby" Staples
I don’t know if it would be in the Siegels’ best interests to take down the Superman franchise; if I were them I’d settle on a healthy licensing fee that wouldn’t break DC to pay.
It should also be noted that the Siegel estate does not and will not own rights to elements of the franchise created after Action Comics #1: certain of Superman’s powers (flight, super-senses, a few others), his supporting cast besides Lois (Jimmy, Perry, the Planet itself), and his entire rogues gallery. What they do own is Superman/Clark/Kal-L himself, his origin as told in #1, his parents, Metropolis, Lois, the Daily Star and its editor George Taylor, the original iteration of Superman’s costume, and that issue’s plot.
March 30, 2008 at 3:49 am
thomwade
Good points. Yeah, I can’t imagine the Siegel’s will take superman down. I have a feeling they will come to a workable agreement. Frankly, it is in their best interest to do that.
March 30, 2008 at 5:37 pm
Will "Filby" Staples
Yeah. If I were them, I wouldn’t want to go don in history as the people who killed Superman (again!).
March 30, 2008 at 9:13 pm
DJ Black Adam
Wow. Well, DC needs to pay to play further!