Copyright and Trademark battle for Superman and Superboy

[Super Monkey]

It's on again :

http://www.newsarama.com/pages/DC/sUPERMAN_bATTLE.htm

[nightwing]

Well, if the paperwork was filed in 2002, I think we now have a definitive answer to why work on the Superboy Archives was mysteriously halted.

[The Starchild]

Another one:

http://www.comicon.com/thebeat/archives/00000164.htm

[The Ceb-Man]

Thanks For the welcome Super- Monkey.
 Sorry for a double post, just finding info about the copyright and I found it thanks to you.
  If the families get the rights , I sure hope they get the trademark as well. I hope DC does not do a Superman without Clark Kent and other essential characters. That would be very disrespectful to the character.
  It would be very interesting to see the return of many Pre-Crisis characters from Superman. As the Siegels have stated a return of Superman to his original roots.
  Boy, A DC Universe without Superman would be real weird!
The return of the Real Superboy would be awesome!
  Could you imagine the possibities a Superman universe all to itself?
No Batman, No JLA!
   Could Superman  movies etc be made at different studios such as 20th Century Fox, Universal, Paramount, or Sony if the families get  the rights? For the right money I am sure the families would?
Just some things to think about!
What about it?

The Ceb-Man!

[Great Rao]

Latest update on the apparently never-ending copyright battle:

Joanne Siegel’s posthumous appeal to Warner Bros - letter, article, and links at http://robot6.comicbookresources.com/2011/03/joanne-siegels-posthumous-appeal-to-warner-bros/

The original letter article was published here: http://www.deadline.com/2011/03/letter-from-lois-lane-to-time-warner-boss/

[Great Rao]

Latest news in the Superman copyright battle:

http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/thr-esq/federal-judge-allowing-warner-bros-201931

The interesting bit is from the last paragraph: "The Siegel and Shuster estates have been largely successful in terminating copyright grants over their early work, which includes some of Superman’s defining characteristics, such as his costume, Clark Kent and his origin story" - which makes me very curious just what the relaunched Superman will be like.

But it looks as though Superman isn't the only copyright battle on WB's plate right now:

http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/thr-esq/mike-tyson-tattoo-artist-sues-183716

[nightwing]

The timing of this company-wide reboot is certainly interesting.

The prevailing wisdom seems to be that DC is doing it because (a) they have some great new idea for a streamlined DCU or (b) the comics are selling so poorly, drastic measures are called for.  But the above link suggests another motive entirely; DC will very soon be unable to publish stories about "Superman" as the world now knows him, so he must be changed.  And either because he's so central to the DCU or just because they want to put up a smokescreen, they're tweaking all their other characters, too (some more than others).

It makes sense; if they have to change him, better to frame it as a big "event" that was entirely their idea than to admit up front, "We lost the rights to the real thing, but here's something we cobbled together from what was left."  In a weird way, it's kind of reassuring to know Superman is still so important to them that they're willing to change the whole DCU to cover their tracks.  Frankly it's been a long time since it felt like they valued him at all.

[Great Rao]

It makes sense; if they have to change him, better to frame it as a big "event" that was entirely their idea than to admit up front, "We lost the rights to the real thing, but here's something we cobbled together from what was left."  In a weird way, it's kind of reassuring to know Superman is still so important to them that they're willing to change the whole DCU to cover their tracks.

I'm pretty sure this is a big piece of what is going on.  After all, why would DC give Superman an entirely new origin - just so they could reboot him 3 months later and give him another new origin, erasing the one that they just gave him?  The only way that makes sense is if it was the result of an unexpected decree from WB legal.