DC Hauls Out Its Big (Legal) Gun Over Superman
In the never-ending battle with the Jerry Siegel estate over the rights and ownership of Superman, DC has fired its old law firm and replaced him with a big, scary guy.
Well, Warner Bros. did the hiring. DC no longer has any distance from their parent company and therefore no longer steers the ship.
The new guy is Daniel Petrocelli. With respect to the current Superman situation, this is the guy who hammered the estate of literary
agent Stephen Slesinger on behalf of the Disney empire. Slesinger was the man who initially propelled Winnie the Pooh into the hearts and souls of Americans. Petrocelli got the suit tossed not on its merits but because the Slesingers’ lawyers illegally obtained documents by
trespassing on Disney property. Hey, a win’s a win.
Petrocelli is defending Jeffrey Skilling, the Enron CEO who was convicted of the massive swindle that cost so many Americans their life savings, their jobs, and/or their retirement. And by “convicted,” I mean the case is presently before the Supreme Court in an attempt to free the convict instead of letting him roast in a well-deserved living hell. But that’s just my opinion, and I like the guy’s brother.
This is not to say the Siegel estate doesn’t have its own heavy-hitter. Marc Toberoff, who already won some major innings in this particular dispute, is well-known in media circles and is also representing the Jack Kirby estate in a similar action against Marvel and their parent company, Marvel Comics. Toberoff’s involvement mitigates against the philosophy that Petrocelli was hired simply to intimidate the Siegel estate.
The people out of a job are the firm of Weissmann Wolff Bergman, who successfully defended DC Comics and our pals Timothy Truman and Joe R. Lansdale when the faded rock stars Johnny Winter and Edgar Winter gracelessly sued the bunch over a tribute in a Jonah Hex miniseries.
Why not mention the source for this information? http://blog.newsarama.com/2010/02/28/dc-fires-law…
Rodrigo, get off it. Damn near every comics-oriented website covered this puppy, as did much of the major media, including the New York Times. Checking the Newsarama copy, there are details in our story that aren't in theirs, and vice versa.
Yes, but "damn near every comics-oriented website" also remembered to include the original source for this story. Basic courtesy.
It truly saddens me that art can cause so much strife between people. Yes, it comes down to money, but is it really worth it? I guess there are some people think that in order to win someone else has to lose, when we all know in our hearts that's not always the case.