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Post by SupermanUF on Oct 17, 2012 21:30:20 GMT -5
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Post by Valentine Smith on Oct 17, 2012 23:37:23 GMT -5
As a general rule, I always side with the creators and their families, especially considering how little they get paid, and how this stuff is all "work for hire" which means you can create stuff that makes BILLIONS and never see anything other than your page rate...
BUT...
I just read the complete ruling. And, while I hate to say it, yes...it looks like Jerry, Joe, AND their families were all GENEROUSLY compensated after 1975. Jesus. 75-80 grand a year starting in 1975??? That's a huge chunk of change for forty years ago. PLUS yearly bonuses. Plus additional monies paid to the families after their deaths. I hate to say it, it was a fair and generous settlement. One they had to fight for, mind you, which they shouldn't have had to do...but it doesn't change the fact that in the end, they were paid handsomely for, not just Superman, but enough to make up for at least a LITTLE of the 30 plus years of poverty and obscurity they endured prior to that.
Now, I won't pretend to understand the ins and outs of actual copyright law, or the question of when/if the rights would have reverted to the heirs. But just on the basis of the compensation discussed in that ruling, I feel a little less guilty about giving one of the largest media conglomerates in the universe my meager allowance for Superman stuff through the years. Because some of it WAS going where it was supposed to.
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Post by crazy_asian_man on Oct 18, 2012 0:02:41 GMT -5
Yay for the rich corporation! Uh... Wait a minute....  |
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Post by Deleted on Oct 18, 2012 1:29:39 GMT -5
Where would it have ended if they had won? Would the heirs have come back again in 30 years to seek more compensation? Would the grandkids of S&S's grandkids have taken WB to court over it? The past is the past, and it's not pretty, but at some point you have to be done with it and move on. I can sympathize with S&S over how they were treated, but I can't feel the same sympathy for their descendents- who didn't have a thing to do with Superman- after they've already benefitted greatly from the entire mess.
I'm just glad this nonsense is over with. For now.
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Post by SupermanUF on Oct 18, 2012 1:58:52 GMT -5
Yay for the rich corporation! Uh... Wait a minute.... Yes, yay for the rich corporation. You can't cry poverty because your dad, or granddad, or fourth cousin, made a bad business deal. |
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Shane
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Post by Shane on Oct 18, 2012 2:46:12 GMT -5
does this mean more superman films?
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Melv
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Post by Melv on Oct 18, 2012 3:09:34 GMT -5
More Superman films forever, and ever, and ever. Amen!
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Keith
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Post by Keith on Oct 18, 2012 11:06:44 GMT -5
Actually.. thats good news.. I'm glad to see that Superman doesn't have to be broken up between the two...
Can we have the old costume back now and ditch the new52 costume?
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Post by Deleted on Oct 18, 2012 11:26:44 GMT -5
Wowww...this is not how I expected it to turn out. What wonderful news!
I wonder if there will be any last minute changes to the movie now that this has happened?
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Post by crazy_asian_man on Oct 18, 2012 12:10:59 GMT -5
If justice were really done, Marvel Studios would have won the rights to Superman instead..... then we WOULD have a Superman movie every other year! WB? After "Catwoman" and "Green Lantern", I think true justice would be to take away ALL their characters from them and give them to me. |
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Post by Valentine Smith on Oct 18, 2012 12:55:09 GMT -5
I told you guys all along that there was no way WB wasn't gonna win this.
Also, the changes to the Superman suit in the comics and in the movie have ABSOLUTELY NOTHING TO DO WITH THIS LAWSUIT. Same with the origin tweaks, etc etc etc. None of that had anything to do with this.
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Conor
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Post by Conor on Oct 18, 2012 14:02:06 GMT -5
The way I look at this things is like this. Had Superman gone belly up and was.....let's say costing WB & DC millions per year and the rights revert back to Sigel and Shuster would they be so eager and share the burden? If WB/DC said, "hey, the rights have expired, now you pay this per year" S&S would say no.
The answer is no. They sold it in the 1930's for $300, a bad decision but it was theirs. They weren't forced to sell it they chose to. Had they been smart they could have included a deal that would see a percentage of the profits go to them but again they didn't.
S&S went to a publisher. It was Action Comics who did all the work, the publishing and kept it going. It still is. Ok perhaps they could have been treated better and recognised for their contribution but that's the past so build a wall and get over it.
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Post by Scissorpuppy on Oct 18, 2012 15:54:34 GMT -5
Evidently the case is only halfway over  I just read this ruling is over the Shuster half, The Siegal half is another case. |
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ShogunLogan
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Post by ShogunLogan on Oct 18, 2012 16:26:31 GMT -5
They sold it in the 1930's for $300, a bad decision but it was theirs. I don't even think that was a bad decision. They had shopped Superman for YEARS...no takers. This was their only option. They got their deal later in the 70s and it's rediculous that their heirs think they have a claim. |
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Post by Valentine Smith on Oct 18, 2012 17:06:56 GMT -5
Evidently the case is only halfway over I just read this ruling is over the Shuster half, The Siegal half is another case. Doesn't matter. The precedent has been set. This is in the bag for WB. |
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Post by Scissorpuppy on Oct 18, 2012 17:36:54 GMT -5
Evidently the case is only halfway over I just read this ruling is over the Shuster half, The Siegal half is another case. Doesn't matter. The precedent has been set. This is in the bag for WB. Yeah, obviously it would be a huge shock if the other ruling is any different at this point. |
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Post by Deleted on Oct 18, 2012 18:49:07 GMT -5
Which is probably how it'll go.
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Shane
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Post by Shane on Oct 18, 2012 20:56:08 GMT -5
come at me bro
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ye5man
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Post by ye5man on Oct 19, 2012 7:27:23 GMT -5
What would have happened to the character had they not sold the option? Doesn't look like they'd have made more than the "settlement" in the mid 70s.
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Post by Valentine Smith on Oct 19, 2012 8:40:02 GMT -5
Well, it's hard to put a price on misery. Jerry & Joe were POOR throughout their lives until that settlement. But yeah, 70 grand PLUS per year in 1975 money? That's certainly fairer.
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Post by crazy_asian_man on Oct 20, 2012 18:35:21 GMT -5
Very true.
That's why I'm not in a rush to celebrate either way, if WB or the creator's heirs had won. After reading so many stories where it'd be clear who's right or wrong over the years--- and feeling confident about it- UNTIL a new element came out, to make one rethink it....
I'd feel more comfortable saying one way or the other after reading the whole case thoroughly, but that's me being a suspicious person and having been burned more than once by situations that seemed clear at first glance...
Personally, I think it's sad when characters that really strike a chord in people and are symbols and CAN have an influence, but aren't in the hands of people who would do the right thing with said character.
Whether it's a corporation (WB) or an individual (ie George Lucas), whoever owns the character that has a real connection with the world, I just hope that he/she/the corporation realizes what the character means to a lot of people, and doesn't just look at the character or the rights to the character as a piece of expensive furniture that only has monetary (and/or legal) value to the world.
Some refer to the character as primarily a piece of property in a business deal gone bad, and I think that's definitely viewing the character in a pretty cheap light, if that's it's only value.
That's all I'm sayin'....
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Keith
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Post by Keith on Mar 4, 2013 13:14:06 GMT -5
Looks like it's not over yet, according to CBR. Siegels are trying again. robot6.comicbookresources.com/2013/03/superman-legal-battle-isnt-over-yet-siegels-try-a-new-strategy/WTF? Really? They lost the last one and they just can't leave it alone.. Talk about greed.. this is terrible. They've been payed so much money over the last 75 years, and some that WB/DC didn't have to do.. and they want more. I hope they don't get any chance to win Supes, they don't deserve the character, and hopefully when it's all said and done, and WB has Superman, there won't be any more reasons for the heirs to try to keep taking them to court, it'll be done. |
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Post by crazy_asian_man on Mar 10, 2013 20:00:42 GMT -5
It might be a case of a runaway legal costs train--- maybe once it got started, there was no turning back.
WB is a faceless corporation with employee turnovers- it's not one individual (as far as I can tell). Nobody is working there for love of the character (at least I doubt it), but for the paychecks.
Considering how long WB has (and keeps on) having its characters in movie development heck--- I'm not 100% they deserve the characters either. The character ending up in others hands may end up being better for the character--- no way to really know unless it actually happens/happened.
If MOS is any good, I think it's more luck that they stumbled onto Nolan, more than any good will on WB's part for the character.
In other words, I doubt WB is any more virtuous than those suing to get (or keep, whatever) the rights.
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ye5man
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Post by ye5man on Mar 12, 2013 16:28:52 GMT -5
Its nothing to do with being virtuous.
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