Marc Toberoff, the attorney representing the estates of Superman co-creators Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster, won't have to pay $500,000 in attorney's fees to Warner Bros. in the fight over rights.
Warners' subsidiary DC Comics moved for an award of attorney's fees after winning a big ruling last October that precluded the Shuster estate's attempt to terminate a copyright grant thanks to a 1992 agreement.
On Thursday, U.S. District Judge Otis Wright denied the motion.
DC argued that it was "forced" to prosecute a claim that ran counter to its rights.
In coming to a decision, the judge had to analyze whether the litigation commenced over Superman rights was frivolous and objectionably unreasonable.
The judge says that Toberoff and his clients had latitude to advocate their positions, especially given the lack of clarity on termination provisions under the Copyright Act.
"Though Defendants did not ultimately prevail, their argument rested on several different primary and secondary authorities," writes the judge. "Defendants sought to explore the boundaries of a relatively green area of copyright law and did so without traversing the bounds of reasonableness."
Read full Ruling... http://www.scribd.com/doc/134242756/Superman-Attorney-Fees
Read More... http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/thr-esq/hollywood-docket-superman-legal-fees-433217
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