Warner Bros. aims to shut down Superman copyright lawsuit ahead of film premiere

The suit came from the nephew of the character's deceased co-creator, who is attempting to take action against Warner Bros. in the UK, Canada, Australia, and Ireland.

Recently, Warner Bros. and DC was caught with their pants down when a lawsuit came out of the blue and threatened the plans to premiere the upcoming first major instalment into the DC Universe, Superman, in a select few regions around the world. The suit came from Mark Peary, the nephew of the deceased co-creator of the character, Joe Shuster, who in January attempted to take on Warner Bros. and DC in the UK, Canada, Australia, and Ireland on a copyright basis levied against the character. This suit could threaten the film's debut in these regions, and clearly Warner Bros. doesn't intend for that to happen.

Variety now notes that Warner Bros. is looking to have this copyright suit thrown out pretty soon, under the mindset that Peary's claim has no grounds due to his mother, Jean Peavy, signing away all rights to Superman to DC in 1992 after Shuster passed.

Warner Bros.' attorney Daniel Petrocelli has stated that "Peary's complaint fails on every ground," and that the foreign rights agreement covered by the Dickens provision in these regions and a few others that Warner Bros. and DC have supposedly broken, is also not a risk. Petrocelli adds, "there are no carve-outs in the controlling 1992 agreement for any foreign copyrights, much less for the copyrights in the 10 countries Peary now alleges in the Complaint."

Warner Bros.' plans is to have the suit thrown out by March 24, which would be well ahead of Superman's premiere in July. Regardless of what happens with this suit, DC and Warner Bros. do have a big headache on the way soon, as Superman will enter the public domain in less than a decade, in 2034.