Half of Superman now owned by the Siegels -- here's why:

OK, so by now I am sure you've heard, and if you haven't, scroll down to see my last post. Half ownership of Action Comics #1 is now returned to the estate of Jerry Siegel.

I've spent some time reading through the 72 page legal opinion, and spent some time talking with my District Attorney sister, and here's how it breaks down:

1) Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster created a Superman comic strip in the mid 1930's and began trying to sell companies four weeks of it.

2) In 1938, after the pair had done other work for DC, Detective Comics asked the pair to fill up a new book called "Action Comics." The pair showed DC the Superman strips, and was told to re-cut them into comic book page form.

3) Upon it's completion, DC sent the pair $130 dollars and a contract that basically said By accepting this money, you sign over all legal rights to Superman to DC, and you will be paid by the page for all subsequent work. They took the money and signed.

4) In 1948, after Superman's popularity took off, the pair failed in their attempt to sue for legal rights back. After the ruling in their favor, DC offered the pair another deal: Sign another contract saying DC owns the rights to Superman now and forever, and they will be paid $94,000. They took the money and signed.

5) In the early 1970's, following a New York Times article showing how impoverished the pair had become, DC made a PR move and granted the pair and their wives each a monthly pension, with the proviso that DC had no legal obligation to do so. Again, they took the money and signed.

Here's how we are where we are:

6) In 1976, A new copyright law was passed saying normal copyrights last 19 years longer than they used to. Instead of 56 years they now last 75 years -- And because of this, any inventor who signed away the rights to their creative content has the right to negate their contract, since the rules have changed. (My D.A. sister said told me how common this is when I told her how I thought the law was ridiculous). The Estate of Jerry Siegel filed plenty of motions to negate the contracts under this new law. If the invention was a "Work for Hire" contract, the inventor would have no rights.

7) After years of legal negotiations and posturing, a judge on Friday night released a 72 page opinion saying:

- The Siegels own half the copyright to Action Comics #1 (presumably when Joe Shuster's estate is eligible in 2013 they will own the other half) and all aspects of Superman detailed in Action Comics #1, because they wrote the strip long before DC ever hired them for anything.

- The Siegels only own half these rights after 1999, due to the legal timeframes established by these laws.

- This ruling makes note that the Siegels have no right to the aspects of Superman created after his initial appearance (heat vision, X-Ray vision, flying, ice breath, Krypton, Krytonite, Lex Luthor, The Fortress of Solitude, Etc.). This makes the amount DC must pay the Siegels highly in question. The biggest thing the Siegels own is the general idea, names and images of Superman and Clark Kent, the later of which is highly profitable.

- DC still has controlling interest in the character, so (at least until 2013) 'ole Supes will still be appearing in as many places as he has before. DC will just have to figure out how much royalties they have to pay.

- This ruling can and will be appealed.

- The rights to Superboy are a separate matter.

You can read another FAQ page at THIS LINK.

Whew! A lot to swallow, huh? So, nothing will change for now except DC will have to pay even more in legal fees trying to negotiate contracts with the Siegels.

Ready for my take on it?

Legally, the Copyright Law of 1976 makes the right to Action Comics #1 belong to Siegel and soon Shuster. That doesn't mean that law is right. I am normally all for protecting what a creator creates, and looking out for creators in need of assistance, but the fact is that these guys sold away the rights to the character not once but twice, and were paid for it. They were even given a pension DC did not have to give them. Their decision to sign away rights to Superman in 1938 was a horrible decision, but it was still their's to make, and they made it.

In the meantime, DC has spent the last 70 years building up the mythos to this character, giving him more of a backstory, a supporting cast, villains, a philosophy, and generally made him the centerpiece of their entire universe. While Siegel and Shuster created the character, DC has taken their original idea and made it a legendary figure -- with the idea that it was theirs to build and reap the benefits.

Now, this legal loophole created in 1976 is taking away some of those profits. While I am not saying we should all cry for DC or parent company AOL Time Warner -- there's money there to spare -- they still shouldn't have to be paying off the estate of two dead creators for the fourth time.

I know I am probably in the minority there, as big business is always the bad guy, but one loophole is really robbing DC of what they purchased several times over, and that's not right either.

Either way, it should be very interesting to see how these (I'm sure to be) Many appeals play out, as well as what happens in 2013 when the Shusters get to take their piece of the rights back. This fight is only just beginning.

Happy 70th Birthday, Superman!