Whereas the prospect of a Supreme Court ruling against Marvel may have played a role in the comic publisher’s decision to settle with Jack Kirby’s heirs, the other comic publisher DC Comics was handed a victory when the Supreme Court refused to hear the case and allowed a lower court’s decision to stand that allowed DC Comics to retain the copyright to Superman.
The high-profile “copyright termination” dispute over Superman?arguably the most famous comic character of all time?is finally over. DC Comics defeated the heirs of artist Joe Shuster and writer Jerry Siegel.
Yesterday, the Supreme Court declined (PDF) to hear the petition filed by the heirs’ lawyers. That leaves standing a ruling from the US Court of Appeals for the 9th Circuit, and the heirs won’t be allowed to wrest the copyright away.
Ars Technica continues with some background information on the legal cases over Superman over the decades.