Warner Bros. hold on the Superman franchise appears to be slipping away very quickly after a ruling by U.S. District Judge Stephen G. Larson effectively handed back the copyrights of the Man of Steel to the family of co-creator Jerome Siegel that not only could award his widow more than $50 million, but also threaten future Superman and Justice League projects produced by the studio.

"After 70 years, Jerome Siegel's heirs regain what he granted so long ago -- the copyright in the Superman material that was published in Action Comics, Vol. 1," Larson wrote in his 72-page ruling last week that was obtained by Deadline Hollywood. Joanne Siegel, who was the model for the original Lois Lane of the comic books, had filed the suit through a copyright law clause that allows heirs a five-year window to reclaim rights to original work 56 years after the copyright was first issued, according to Amy Wallace of Conde Nast Portfolio (disclaimer: Michael Hinman is employed outside of Airlock Alpha by a company that has common ownership with Conde Nast). That allows Siegel, whose late husband sold the rights of Superman to Detective Comics in 1938 (and Superboy in 1948) to regain rights to the work, which could stretch to movies, comic books, merchandising and more from 1999 to the present. That includes "Smallville" on The CW, which Siegel claims is part of the Superboy copyright.

In his ruling, Larson said that while he feels the copyrights do belong with Siegel, it still must be decided how much of the profits she would gain, and would have to be decided through a separate trial that include profits generated by any movies and television shows that were based on the comics.

It's likely that Warner Bros. will appeal the ruling, but they shouldn't be surprised by the ruling. Siegel wrote a letter to Time Warner chief executive officer Dick Parsons in 2002 that called the company both "greedy" and "heartless" for not willing to share profits with the heirs of the Superman creator. "Your company wants to strip us naked of our legal rights. Is that the reputation you want?" she asked.

No trial date for damages has been set.

Thanks to Von Bruno for the tip!

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