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Suit cites rights of co-creator's estate under British law

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Estate says Warner failed to pay royalties as required

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Warner promises to "vigorously defend" against the suit

By Blake Brittain

Jan 31 (Reuters) - The estate of one of Superman's

co-creators has filed a copyright lawsuit in a U.S. court

against Warner Bros. Discovery ( WBD ) ahead of the release of

its new movie "Superman," part of a planned reboot of the DC

Comics superhero film franchise.

The lawsuit was filed on Friday in federal court in New York

City by the estate of Superman illustrator Joseph Shuster, who

created the famous superhero along with writer Jerome Siegel.

The lawsuit noted that Shuster and Siegel had licensed their

rights to the character to Detective Comics, the predecessor of

DC Comics, now a subsidiary of Warner. The lawsuit claims that

under British law Shuster's rights reverted to his estate in

2017, 25 years after his death. The estate accused Warner of

unlawfully failing to pay royalties to use Superman in Britain,

Canada, Australia and other countries outside the United States.

The new Superman movie, directed by James Gunn and starring

David Corenswet, is set to be released in theaters in July. The

new litigation could complicate the international distribution

of the film. It marks the latest salvo in a long-running legal

battle over the rights to the character.

Shuster's estate is seeking monetary damages and a court

order blocking Warner from depicting Superman without a license.

"We fundamentally disagree with the merits of the lawsuit,

and will vigorously defend our rights," a Warner spokesperson

said.

The estate's attorney did not immediately respond to a

request for comment.

The lawsuit said Shuster and Siegel began creating Superman

comic strips in 1934. DC's predecessor Detective Comics began

publishing their comics in 1938.

Shuster and Siegel and their estates have been involved in

litigation with Warner over the rights to Superman for decades.

The San Francisco-based 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals

determined in 2013 that the creators could not reclaim their

rights from Warner under U.S. law.

The new lawsuit, however, cites British law. The estate

claimed that the distribution of works featuring Superman since

2017 - including movies, television shows and video games -

infringes its copyright in countries that follow British law.