Warner Bros. have been fighting for its rights to Superman and the hugely lucrative franchise that has come with the classic superhero character for years. The film production company that has been responsible for a wide variety of superheroes over the years, has held a large stake in Superman but their relationship with Superman has been rocked by the sister of Joe Schuster, who was the co-creator behind the character. Schuster's sister claims she has rights over the royalties of the character because she is the recipient of her late brother's estate, which she thinks includes Superman.

According to the Hollywood Reporter this all regards an agreement made in 1992, which “precludes the estate's attempt to terminate a copyright grant” with Warner Bros. Four years ago one judge confirmed the validity of the termination notice. And on Wednesday (17th Oct. 2012) the judge ruled "that the 1992 Agreement, which represented the Shuster heirs’ opportunity to renegotiate the prior grants of Joe Shuster’s copyrights, superseded and replaced all prior grants of the Superman copyrights. The 1992 Agreement thus represents the parties’ operative agreement and, as a post-1978 grant, it is not subject to termination."

Zack Snyder and Christopher Nolan are currently working extra hard on a massive budget Warner Bros. film, 'Man of Steel'. We're sure everyone on set can breathe a sigh of relief after the judge's ruling. Hopefully Superman may continue unhindered by this kind of judicious kryptonite in the future.