HollywoodReporter.com reports on the latest development in the ongoing legal battle over the rights to Superman, with U.S. Magistrate Judge Ralph Zaresky rejecting the WB's attempts to pry open secret documents that were said to show an agreement between the estates of Superman co-creators Joe Shuster and Jerry Siegel�not to make further copyright deals with the studio.
- Last year, the studio�filed a lawsuit�against the recently deceased Joanne Siegel and her lawyer,�Marc Toberoff, for interfering with its rights via allegedly shady joint venture agreements. To that end, it has demanded production of sensitive documents.
The documents are said to be "consent agreements" between the Siegel and Shuster estates and their existence came to light during settlement discussions during the first phase of the Siegel trial. Once Toberoff mentioned the presence of these agreements, Warners almost immediately demanded the documents be shared. During the first trial, Toberoff successfully got a judge to agree that those documents were protected by attorney-client privilege.
The case continues, with debates on who owns what now in the hands of the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals.
Read the complete report at the Hollywood Reporter website.
View the Original article