"SUPERMAN" Lawsuit thrown out of U.S Court- For Now

Superman Legal Battle Thrown Out of U.S. Court—For Now

Warner Bros. Discovery and DC Comics have dodged a legal bullet—at least in the United States. A federal judge has dismissed a high-profile lawsuit that aimed to derail the global release of DC’s upcoming Superman film, originally set to hit theaters this July.

The suit was brought by Warren Peary, nephew of Joseph Shuster, one of the original creators of the iconic superhero. Peary claimed that Warner Bros. had been unlawfully profiting off Superman in multiple countries, including the U.K., Canada, Australia, and Ireland, long after the studio’s rights had allegedly expired.

But U.S. District Judge Jesse Furman wasn’t buying it—at least not in his courtroom. On Thursday, he tossed out the case, explaining that since Peary’s claims were based on international copyright laws, the U.S. legal system had no jurisdiction over them.

A spokesperson for Warner Bros. Discovery doubled down in a statement: “We’ve always said it—DC owns Superman, period.”

That wasn’t the end of the story, though. By Friday, Peary had refiled the lawsuit in New York state court, keeping the legal fire alive.

At the heart of the dispute is a bold accusation: that Warner Bros. no longer held valid international rights to Superman but continued to rake in profits from projects like Justice League, Black Adam, and Shazam! anyway. Peary is seeking a piece of the financial pie from those releases in countries where he believes his family’s rights were violated.

One of Peary’s key arguments leaned on the Berne Convention, a global copyright treaty. He pointed out that under British law, for example, copyright can revert to an author’s estate 25 years after their death—which would have happened in 2017, since Shuster died in 1992. That would, in theory, give the estate renewed control over the character in places like the U.K.

But the judge rejected this rationale, saying the Berne Convention doesn’t have automatic legal force in U.S. courts. As such, Peary’s case didn’t belong there.

Superman’s legal history is nearly as storied as the character himself. Shuster and writer Jerry Siegel originally sold their rights to the character for just $130 back in 1938. Since then, legal fights have flared up time and again, starting with a major lawsuit in 1947 and continuing well into the 21st century.

In 1992, Shuster’s family struck a deal with DC, trading away any potential future claims in exchange for an annual payment of $25,000. That deal was upheld by a federal court—but Peary now questions whether Shuster’s sister, who signed the agreement, had the legal standing to make such a deal on behalf of the entire estate.

The court didn’t rule on that matter, instead dismissing the case on jurisdictional grounds.

Peary is being represented by heavyweight copyright attorney Marc Tober off, who has previously taken on major Hollywood studios. He has yet to comment on the case's next steps.