U.S. court washes hands of Superman international copyright claim

Unfortunately for the Shuster estate, U.S. District Judge Jesse Furman ruled that he couldn’t really make a ruling, because the “infringement claims are brought explicitly under the laws of foreign countries, not the laws of the United States,” per the filing on Thursday (via Deadline). “The Court concludes that it lacks subject-matter jurisdiction over this case; the case therefore must be and is dismissed. Accordingly, the Court need not and does not address Defendants’ alternative argument that the case should be transferred to another federal district. Additionally, given the Court’s lack of jurisdiction, Peary’s motion for a preliminary injunction must be and is denied as moot.”

The merits of the case were not called into question in this ruling, so the Shuster estate could very well continue to wage its legal battle against WBD with a new suit. We’re not legal experts here at The A.V. Club, but perhaps the estate should consider pursuing the U.K.-based complaint in the U.K. As for WBD and DC, plans for the blockbuster release of Gunn’s Superman, starring David Corenswet and Rachel Brosnahan, continue. In response to Thursday’s ruling, a representative for WBD said,  “We are pleased with the court’s decision to dismiss this baseless lawsuit. As we have consistently maintained, DC controls all rights to Superman.“