Siegel Superman/Superboy Opposition To Summary Judgment Filing March 4, 2013

PLAINTIFFS OPPOSITION TO DC COMICS MOTION FOR SUMMARY JUDGMENT
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Marc Toberoff (State Bar No. 188547)
[email protected]
Keith G. Adams (State Bar No. 240497)
[email protected]
Pablo D. Arredondo (State Bar No. 241142)
[email protected]
David Harris (State Bar No. 255557)
[email protected]
TOBEROFF & ASSOCIATES, P.C.
22337 Pacific Coast Highway, #348
Malibu, California, 90265
Telephone: (310) 246-3333
Fax: (310) 246-3101

Attorneys for Plaintiff-Counterclaim
Defendant, Laura Siegel Larson,
individually and as personal representative
of the Estate of Joanne Siegel

UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT

CENTRAL DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA - WESTERN DIVISION
LAURA SIEGEL LARSON,
individually and as personal
representative of the ESTATE OF
JOANNE SIEGEL,
Plaintiff,
v.
WARNER BROS. ENTERTAINMENT
INC., DC COMICS, and DOES 1-10,
Defendants and
Counterclaimants.
Case No: 04-CV-08400 ODW (RZx)*

Hon. Otis D. Wright II, U.S.D.J.
Hon. Ralph Zarefsky, U.S.M.J.

PLAINTIFFS OPPOSITION TO DC
COMICS MOTION FOR
SUMMARY JUDGMENT IN THE
SIEGEL SUPERMAN AND
SUPERBOY CASES

Declaration of Keith Adams and
Statement of Genuine Issues of Fact and
Law filed concurrently

Date: March 25, 2013*
Time: 1:30 p.m.*
Place: Courtroom 11*

*: The Court has stated that it will take
the motion(s) under submission and hold
a hearing if necessary. Dkt. 707. Docket
citations herein are to Case No. 04-CV-
08400.

JOANNE SIEGEL,
Plaintiff,
v.
TIME WARNER INC., WARNER
COMMUNICATIONS INC.,
INC., WARNER BROS. TELEVISION
PRODUCTION INC., DC COMICS,
and DOES 1-10,
Defendants and
Counterclaimants.
Case 2:04-cv-08400-ODW-RZ Document 709 Filed 03/04/13 Page 1 of 32 Page ID #:15406

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Tables of Contents and Authorities
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TABLE OF CONTENTS

INTRODUCTION ..................................................................................................... 1

STATEMENT OF FACTS ........................................................................................ 3

STANDARD OF REVIEW ....................................................................................... 6

ARGUMENT ............................................................................................................. 6

I. THE MANDATE DOES NOT SUPPORT PREMATURE
JUDGMENT .................................................................................................... 6

II. ISSUES OF MATERIAL FACT PREVENT SUMMARY
JUDGMENT .................................................................................................... 9

A. The October 19, 2001 Letter Did Not Transfer The Copyrights
And DC Is Not Entitled To A Declaration Of Rights To That
Effect ..................................................................................................... 9

1. The Letters Language Does Not Support DCs
Interpretation ............................................................................... 9

2. Any Ambiguity Must Be Resolved By The Trier Of Fact ....... 10

3. The Circuit Did Not Hold That The Siegels Assigned
Rights ........................................................................................ 10

4. A Judgment That The Siegels Are Obliged To Transfer
Rights To DC Would Not Settle The Issue .............................. 11

B. DC Is Not Entitled To Specific Performance...................................... 12

1. DC Did Not Perform Or Even Offer To Perform ..................... 14

2. The Failure To Complete A Long-Form Agreement Did
Not Excuse DCs Non-Performance ......................................... 15

3. The Siegels Did Not Breach The Letter ................................... 16

a. DCs Anticipatory Breach/Repudiation ......................... 16

b. DCs Actual Breach ....................................................... 19

c. The Siegels Rescission .................................................. 20

d. DCs Acquiescence and Abandonment .......................... 22

III. FEDERAL COPYRIGHT LAW PREVENTS SUMMARY
JUDGMENT AS TO SUPERBOY AND THE SUPERMAN ADS ............. 23

CONCLUSION ........................................................................................................ 25

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TABLE OF AUTHORITIES

Cases

Abdulkhalik v. City of San Diego,
2009 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 110062 (S.D. Cal. Nov. 25, 2009) ..................................... 12

Anderson v. Liberty Lobby,
477 U.S. 242 (1986) ................................................................................................... 6

Arachnid, Inc. v. Merit Indus., Inc.,
939 F.2d 1574 (Fed. Cir. 1991) ............................................................................... 10

Barndt v. County of L.A.,
211 Cal. App. 3d 397 (1989) ................................................................................... 12

Beverage v. Canton Pacer Mining Co.,
43 Cal. 2d 769 (1955) ........................................................................................ 14-15

Blackburn v. Charnley,
117 Cal. App. 4th 758 (2004) .................................................................................. 13

Brown v. Grimes,
192 Cal. App. 4th 265 (2011) .................................................................................. 19

Campanelli v. Bockrath,
1997 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 7981 (N.D. Cal. June 4, 1997) ............................................. 8

Castaneda v. Dura-Vent Corp.,
648 F.2d 612 (9th Cir. 1981) ................................................................................... 10

CDF Firefighters v. Maldonado,
158 Cal. App. 4th 1226 (2008) ................................................................................ 13

City of Hollister v. Monterey Ins. Co.,
165 Cal. App. 4th 455 (2008) .................................................................................. 16

Classic Media, Inc. v. Mewborn,
532 F.3d 978 (9th Cir. 2008) ................................................................................... 24

Darling Intl, Inc. Baywood Partners, Inc.,
2007 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 50985 (N.D. Cal. July 13, 2007) ....................................... 18

Daugherty Co. v. Kimberly-Clark Corp.,
14 Cal. App. 3d 151 (1971) ..................................................................................... 23

Dobson v. Twin City Fire Ins. Co.,
2012 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 93823 (C.D. Cal. July 5, 2012) .......................................... 15

Doe v. State of Nebraska,
2002 WL 225907 (D. Neb. Dec. 14, 2002) ............................................................... 8


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Edgerly v. City & County of San Francisco,
2011 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 155192 (N.D. Cal. May 26, 2011) ....................................... 8

Edlin v. M/V Truthseeker,
69 F.3d 392 (9th Cir. 1995) ....................................................................................... 8

Facebook, Inc. v. Pac. Nw. Software, Inc.,
640 F.3d 1034 (9th Cir. 2011) ................................................................................. 15

Fed. Deposit Ins. Corp. v. Air Florida Sys., Inc.,
822 F.2d 833 (9th Cir. 1987) ................................................................................... 22

Ferguson v. City of Cathedral City,
197 Cal. App. 4th 1161 (2011) ................................................................................ 16

Firth v. United States,
554 F.2d 990 (9th Cir. 1977) ..................................................................................... 8

Freedman v. St. Matthias Parish,
37 Cal. 2d 16 (1951) ................................................................................................ 18

Freeman v. Mostafavi,
2005 Cal. App. Unpub. LEXIS 10154 (Cal. App. 2d Dist. Nov. 8, 2005) .............. 23

Golden West Baseball Co. v. City of Anaheim,
25 Cal. App. 4th 11 (1994) ...................................................................................... 13

Griffin v. Beresa, Inc.,
143 Cal. App. 2d 299 (1956) ................................................................................... 22

Grunwald-Marx, Inc. v. Los Angeles Joint Board, Amalgamated Clothing Workers
192 Cal. App. 2d 268 (1961) ................................................................................... 22

Guidiville Band of Pomo Indians v. NGV Gaming, Ltd.,
531 F.3d 767 (9th Cir. 2008) ..................................................................................... 7

Hall v. City of L.A.,
697 F.3d 1059 (9th Cir. 2012) ................................................................................... 8

Hil-Mac Corp. v. Mendo Wood Products, Inc.,
235 Cal. App. 2d 526 (1965) ................................................................................... 22

Hull v. Ray,
211 Cal. 164 (1930) ................................................................................................. 20

Honda v. Reed,
156 Cal. App. 2d 536 (1958) ................................................................................... 23

Industrial Indemnity v. Superior Court,
224 Cal. App. 3d 828 (1990) ................................................................................... 10

Irwin v. American Interactive Media,
1994 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 16223 (C.D. Cal. Apr. 14, 1994) ....................................... 21


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Jaunich v. Natl Union Fire Ins. Co. of Pittsburgh, PA.,
647 F. Supp. 209 (N.D.Cal.1986) ............................................................................ 21

Johnson v. Goldberg,
130 Cal. App. 2d 571 (1955) ................................................................................... 18

Katz v. Cal-Western Reconveyance Corp.,
2010 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 98940 (N.D. Cal. Sept. 21, 2010) ...................................... 13

Lancaster v. Tilton,
2007 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 48403 (N.D. Cal. June 21, 2007) ......................................... 8

Larson v. Warner Bros. Entmt, Inc.,
2013 U.S. App. LEXIS 671 (9th Cir. January 10, 2013) ................................. 1, 7, 11

Lil Red Barn, Inc. v. Red Barn Sys., Inc.,
322 F. Supp. 98 (N.D. Ind. 1970) .............................................................................. 9

Local 659, I.A.T.S.E. v. Color Corp. of America,
47 Cal. 2d 189 (1956) .............................................................................................. 16

Loop Building Co. v. De Coo,
97 Cal. App. 354 (1929) .................................................................................... 17, 20

Maffei v. N. Ins. Co. of N.Y.,
12 F.3d 892 (9th Cir. 1993) ..................................................................................... 10

Mammoth Lakes Land Acquisition, LLC v. Town of Mammoth Lakes,
191 Cal. App. 4th 435 (2010) ............................................................................ 16, 18

Marvel Characters v. Simon,
310 F.3d 280 (2d Cir. 2002) .................................................................................... 24

McCreary v. Mercury Lumber Distributors,
124 Cal. App. 2d 477 (1957) ................................................................................... 23

Milne v. Stephen Slesinger, Inc.,
430 F.3d 1036 (9th Cir. 2005) ................................................................................. 24

Mycogen Corp. v. Monsanto Co.,
28 Cal. 4th 888 (2002) ............................................................................................. 12

N.Y. Times v. Tasini,
533 U.S. 483 (2001) ................................................................................................. 24

Narayan v. EGL, Inc.,
616 F.3d 895 (9th Cir. 2010) ..................................................................................... 6

Ninety Nine Invest. v. Overseas Courier Service (Sing.) Priv.,
113 Cal. App. 4th 1118 (2003) ................................................................................ 14

Odima v. Westin Tucson Hotel,
53 F.3d 1484 (9th Cir. 1995) ..................................................................................... 8


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Pacific Coast Engineering Co. v. Merritt-Chapman & Scott Corp.,
411 F.2d 889 (9th Cir. 1969) ............................................................................. 17, 19

Peer Intl Corp. v. Pausa Records, Inc.,
909 F.2d 1332 (9th Cir. Cal. 1990) .......................................................................... 21

Pichignau v. Paris,
264 Cal. App. 2d 138 (1968) ................................................................................... 18

Portsmouth Square, Inc. v. Shareholders Protective Comm.,
770 F.2d 866 (9th Cir. 1985) ................................................................................... 12

Posner v. Grunwald-Marx, Inc.,
56 Cal. 2d 169 (1961) .............................................................................................. 19

Rubin v. Fuchs,
1 Cal. 3d 50 (1969) .................................................................................................. 21

SCO Group, Inc. v. Novell, Inc.,
2004 WL 4737297 (D. Utah June 9, 2004) ............................................................... 9

Siegel v. Warner Bros. Entertainment, Inc.,
542 F. Supp. 2d 1098 (C.D. Cal. 2008) ..................................................................... 5

Thomas v. Ponder,
611 F.3d 1144 (9th Cir. 2010) ................................................................................... 6

U.S. for Use of Bldg. Rentals Corp. v. W. Cas. & Sur. Co.,
498 F.2d 335 (9th Cir. 1974) ................................................................................... 21

Union Oil Co. of California v. Greka Energy Corp.,
165 Cal. App. 4th 129 (2008) .................................................................................. 13

Vaxiion Therapeutics, Inc. v. Foley & Lardner, LLP,
593 F. Supp. 2d 1153 (S.D. Cal. 2008) .................................................................... 15

Wallace v. City of San Diego,
479 F.3d 616 (9th Cir. 2007) ..................................................................................... 6

Waller v. Truck Ins. Exch., Inc.,
11 Cal. 4th 1 (1995) ................................................................................................... 9

Walters v. Calderon,
25 Cal. App. 3d 863 (1972) ..................................................................................... 13

Wilson v. Lewis,
106 Cal. App. 3d 802 (1980) ................................................................................... 21

Statutes

17 U.S.C. 304(c)(5) ............................................................................................... 24

17 U.S.C. 304(c)(6)(D) ..................................................................................... 2, 23


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Cal. Civ. Code 1439 .............................................................................................. 14

Cal. Civ. Code 1639 ................................................................................................ 9

Cal. Civ. Code 1689(b) ......................................................................................... 20

Cal. Civ. Code 1691 .............................................................................................. 20

Cal. Civ. Code 1657 .............................................................................................. 20

Cal. Civ. Code 1693 .............................................................................................. 22

Cal. Civ. Code 1657 ............................................................................................... 20

Fed. R. Civ. P. 56(c) .................................................................................................. 6

Fed. R. Civ. P. 56(f) ................................................................................................. 12


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INTRODUCTION
Defendant DC Comics (DC) summary judgment motion (Mot.) is falsely
premised. DC cannot rush this case to judgment based on its willful misreading of
the Ninth Circuits recent decision. The Circuit did not hold that the October 19,
2001 letter from the Siegels attorney to DC actively transferred the Siegels
copyrights to DC, as DC solely argues. It held only that the letter was an acceptance
of terms negotiated between the parties that was sufficient to create a contract on
October 19, 2001, and remanded this case for adjudication of DCs counterclaims.
Larson v. Warner Bros. Ent., Inc., 2013 U.S. App. LEXIS 671, at *3 (9th Cir.
January 10, 2013). What the resulting October 19, 2001 agreement meant, and
whether and to what extent it is still enforceable given DCs subsequent conduct, are
entirely separate questions raised by DCs counterclaims. The answers to those
questions show that DC is not entitled to summary judgment and why DC did not
bring a proper summary judgment motion as to its counterclaims.
As a matter of law, the October 19, 2001 letter could not have transferred the
Siegels copyrights, as it unambiguously states that the Siegels would transfer their
rights in the future. DC thus requires specific performance of the October 19, 2001
letter. But specific performance requires that DC first prove that the Siegels breached
the agreement plus additional elements, which DC cannot establish and has not even
attempted to prove in its motion. Tellingly, DC asked in its motion that its Third
Counterclaim for breach of contract be dismissed. DC can neither prove the elements
of breach nor obtain specific performance under California law.
Today, DC insists that the terms are everything in this [October 19] letter,
nothing more. But in 2001-2002, DC acted as though it was not bound by it. For
instance, the October 19, 2001 letter set forth a clear unequivocal obligation of DC to
pay the Siegels by March 31, 2002, and there is no condition in the October 19, 2001
letter that any long-form agreement first be negotiated. That day came and went.
DC did not pay or even offer to pay, on March 31, 2002 in exchange for the Siegels

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performance, as it had promised, breaching its agreement. Instead, DC conditioned
its performance on new and revised terms found nowhere in the October 19, 2001
letter, all of which favored DC and hurt the Siegels.
After attempting to grind and muscle the Siegels, DC cannot now have its cake
and eat it too, and avoid the consequences of its actions in 2001-2002. Under clear
California law, DCs anticipatory breach, followed by its actual breach of the October
19, 2001 letter, excused the Siegels performance and allowed them to rescind the
October 19, 2001 letter. In May 2002, the Siegels rejected DCs overreaching
attempts to claw back on its promises to them, and exercised their right of
rescission. In response, DC did not retract its demands and revert to the October 19,
2001 letter. DC did not offer to perform under the October 19, 2001 letter or claim
that the Siegels were bound by the October 19, 2001 letter. Instead, DC acquiesced
and engaged in new negotiations with the Siegels. DC asserted no rights under the
October 19, 2001 letter until after the Siegels filed this action in October, 2004.
In short, when it mattered, DC did not honor the October 19, 2001 letter,
anticipatorily breaching and then actually breaching its terms, causing justifiable
rescission of the October 19, 2001 letter, and precluding its enforcement today.
At a minimum, this raises genuine issues of material fact barring summary
judgment. DC entirely failed to address these issues in its motion, and they cannot be
decided ad hoc as that would violate Ms. Larsons right to due process.
In addition, the October 19, 2001 letter could not have transferred the Siegels
recaptured Superboy copyrights or their rights in the early Superman promotional
announcements (Ads). Under 17 U.S.C. 304(c)(6)(D), a terminated copyright
can only be re-granted to the original grantee after the notice of termination is served.
The Siegels did not serve Superboy termination notices until 2002, and did not serve
termination notices regarding the Ads until 2012. The October 19, 2001 letter could
not have transferred to DC the Siegels termination interests in Superboy or the Ads
as a matter of law, and therefore the October 19, 2001 letter has no bearing on the

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Siegels Superboy case (C.D. Cal. Case No. 04-CV-08776).
DCs rush to judgment must be rejected, and its motion denied.
STATEMENT OF FACTS
In 1997, Joanne Siegel and Laura Siegel Larson (the Siegels) served notices
of termination pursuant to the Copyright Act as to Jerome Siegels Superman
copyright grants to DC. Statement of Issues (SGI) 2. In 1999, the parties entered
into formal negotiations, in which the Siegels were represented by attorney Kevin
Marks and DC by Warners then-General Counsel, John Schulman. SGI 3.
On October 16, 2001, DC made a settlement offer to the Siegels. SGI 3. On
October 19, 2001, Marks sent a term sheet, in letter form, to Schulman, which the
Ninth Circuit later held was a valid acceptance of DCs offer creating an agreement
(the October 19, 2001 Letter). SGI 5. DC now argues and admits that these were
the only terms the parties ever agreed to. SGI 52-53. The October 19, 2001 Letter
contained a specific, time-sensitive obligation of DC: an annual guarantee of
$500,000 per year payable for ten years beginning March 31, 2002. SGI 6. There
was also a $1,000,000 signing bonus, presumably payable before March 31, 2002,
and a $2,000,000 advance for the period beginning January 1, 2000. Id. At the
time the parties agreed to this March 31, 2002 deadline, they intended the terms of
the October 19, 2001 Letter to be transposed into an agreement format for signature
by the parties, which should have been a relatively simple task. SGI 7.
DC did not accept the October 19, 2001 Letter as the parties agreement.
Instead, on October 26, 2001, Schulman sent a letter to Marks, enclosing a more
fulsome outline of deal terms (the October 26, 2001 Letter). SGI 8. The
October 26, 2001 Letter was sent when Marks was in China for a long period; he did
not return until late November 2001, and it was not forwarded to the Siegels. SGI 9.
As is evident from the October 26, 2001 Letter, and as Marks testified,
Schulmans outline contained new and changed terms that were materially different
from those in the October 19, 2001 Letter, all in DCs favor. SGI 10-16. Among
Case 2:04-cv-08400-ODW-RZ Document 709 Filed 03/04/13 Page 10 of 32 Page ID
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other changes, the outline required the Siegels to assign additional copyrights to DC,
reduced the Siegels royalty in many instances, changed when and where credit
would be given, and added numerous warranty and indemnity provisions found
nowhere in the October 19, 2001 Letter. Id. The October 26, 2001 Letter also states
that DC was preparing a draft agreement. SGI 8. The October 26, 2001 Letter
confirms the Annual Payment (Advance) of $500,000 per year for ten years,
commencing 2002, payable 3/31 of year, i.e., beginning March 31, 2002. SGI 17.
After over three months, DC finally sent Marks a draft agreement on February
1, 2002 (the February 1, 2002 Draft), which was vastly different from the October
19, 2002 Letter, as Marks testified. SGI 6, 18-21. In addition to the new material
terms in DCs October 26, 2013 Letter, DC insisted on numerous new and changed
terms all to DCs benefit and the Siegels detriment. SGI 19-21.
The March 31, 2002 payment deadline came and went; DC did not pay or even
tender the $500,000 annual payment, the $1,000,000 signing bonus, or the
$2,000,000 advance, as DC had expressly promised and as set forth in the October
19, 2001 Letter. SGI 24.
On May 9, 2002, Joanne Siegel sent a letter to Richard Parsons, COO of DCs
parent, AOL Time Warner Inc., objecting to the February 1, 2002 Draft and stating:
When we made those difficult concessions and reluctantly accepted John
Schulman's last proposal six months ago [the October 19, 2001 agreement], we were
stabbed in the back with a shocking [February 1, 2002] contract and that [a]fter
four years we have no deal and this contract makes an agreement impossible. SGI
25; Declaration of Keith Adams (AD), Ex. 4.
On May 21, 2002, Time Warner sent a reply letter to Joanne, stating it was
quite troubled by [her] feeling[s]. SGI 26. However, it did not retract its
aggressive demands in the February 1, 2002 Draft, or go back to the terms in the
October 19, 2001 Letter that the Siegels confirmed was their agreement. SGI 26-
27. Instead, DC falsely maintained that the draft accurately represented the
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agreement previously reached, when a plain comparison of its Draft to the October
19, 2001 Letter revealed that this was not true. SGI 6, 18-21, 26.
On September 21, 2002, the Siegels sent a letter in which they terminated
Marks and provided formal notification that we are totally stopping and ending all
negotiations with DC Comics effective immediately. SGI 29. Later, in
November 2002, the Siegels served a 304(c) notice of termination regarding
Superboy, with an effective date of November 17, 2004. SGI 30.
In response to all of these events, DC did not claim rights under the October
19, 2001 Letter. SGI 33. Nor did DC comply, or offer to comply, with its
obligations under the October 19, 2001 Letter. SGI 32. Instead, in 2003-04, DC
simply resumed negotiations with the Siegels. SGI 31.
The parties new negotiations were unsuccessful and accordingly, on October 8
and October 22, 2004, the Siegels filed suits to enforce their statutory terminations as
to Superman and Superboy, respectively. SGI 34-35. On November 22, 2004, DC
counterclaimed, and contended for the first time in three years that the October 19,
2001 Letter constituted an agreement. SGI 36-37. DC also alleged for the first
time that the Siegels had repudiated that agreement by their May 9, 2002 and
September 21, 2002 letters. SGI 38. DCs Third Counterclaim against the Siegels
was for breach of contract, and its Fourth Counterclaim (on which it now moves)
sought only declaratory relief as to the October 19, 2001 Letter. SGI 39-40.
Judge Larson concluded on summary judgment that the parties had failed to
reach an agreement, citing the materially different terms of the October 26, 2001
Letter and the vastly different terms of the February 1, 2002 Draft. SGI 47. This
Court then entered a Rule 54(b) judgment, and both sides appealed. SGI 48-49.
On March 6, 2012, Ms. Larson served a termination notice on DC regarding
early Superman Ads, with an effective date of March 12, 2014. SGI 63.
On January 10, 2013, the Circuit reversed Judge Larsons ruling, holding that
the October 19, 2001 Letter constituted a valid acceptance of DCs offer sufficient to
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form an agreement on October 19, 2001. SGI 58. The Circuit did not disturb Judge
Larsons findings as to the materially and vastly different terms in DCs October
26, 2001 Letter and February 1, 2002 Draft, and remanded the case for further
adjudication of DCs contract claims its Third and Fourth Counterclaims. SGI 59.
On January 29, 2013, DC, for the first time in 12 years, offered to tender
payment to Ms. Larson under the October 19, 2001 Letter, subject to purported
rights of offset, rendering its offer illusory. SGI 60. DC also not provide the
basis for its calculations, leaving it completely uncertain whether DCs tender
complied with the complicated royalty scheme in the October 19, 2001 Letter. SGI
61. Troublingly, the amount of Superman royalties DC claimed it owed Ms. Larson
in 2013, subject to DCs purported rights of offset, was not much higher that what
DC had testified was owed Ms. Larson seven years earlier in 2006. SGI 62.
STANDARD OF REVIEW
Summary judgment is appropriate only if the record discloses that there is no
genuine issue as to any material fact and that the moving party is entitled to judgment
as a matter of law. Fed. R. Civ. P. 56(c). The moving party bears the burden of
identifying evidence demonstrating the absence of a genuine issue of material fact for
trial. Anderson v. Liberty Lobby, 477 U.S. 242, 256 (1986). The non-moving
partys evidence is to be believed, and all justifiable inferences are to be drawn in
[its] favor. Thomas v. Ponder, 611 F.3d 1144, 1149 (9th Cir. 2010). The court must
make all credibility determinations in favor of the nonmoving party, Narayan v.
EGL, Inc., 616 F.3d 895, 899 (9th Cir. 2010), and must disregard all evidence
favorable to the moving party that the jury is not required to believe. Wallace v.
City of San Diego, 479 F.3d 616, 624 (9th Cir. 2007).
ARGUMENT
I. THE MANDATE DOES NOT SUPPORT PREMATURE JUDGMENT
DCs entire argument in support of judgment is premised on its outright
misrepresentation that the Ninth Circuit held that [Ms.] Larson transferred any
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copyrights that may have been recaptured to DC. Mot. at 1.
A plain reading of the opinion shows that the Circuit held no such thing. The
Circuit held only that the October 19, 2001, letter did constitute an acceptance
and was sufficient to create a contract on that date. Larson, 2013 U.S. App. LEXIS
671, at *3. The Circuit did not interpret the contract, set forth its terms, determine if
the terms are enforceable, or even determine if the agreement is still in effect, as such
contract matters should be adjudicated in the first instance by a district court. See
Guidiville Band of Pomo Indians v. NGV Gaming, Ltd., 531 F.3d 767, 788 (9th Cir.
2008) (remanding case; [b]ecause factual issues exist with regard to the
contracts interpretation, the district court is in a better position to make these
determination in the first instance) (citation omitted). Accordingly, the Circuit
remanded to this Court for adjudication of DCs contract counterclaims.
DC admits that it specifically ask[ed] the Ninth Circuit to enter judgment in
its favor on all claims in the Siegel Superman case on the grounds it now asserts
here. Mot. at 4. In fact, DC expressly asked the Ninth Circuit to enter judgment in
its favor at least five times in its briefs. SGI 50.
1

The Circuit was well aware of this request, and questioned DC about it. SGI
51; AD, Ex. 19 at 344 (The Court: [I]f thats correct, is this matter for trial rather
than summary judgment for you [DC]?), 345-46 (The Court: Judge Reinhardt was
asking you, Is there sufficient evidence [] for summary judgment in your favor?).
Despite DCs clear requests and the Circuits awareness of them, the Circuit
did not remand with instructions to enter judgment in DCs favor. Instead, it directed
this Court to reconsider DCs third and fourth [contract] counterclaims in light of
our holding. Larson, 2013 U.S. App. LEXIS 671, at *6. In other words, the Circuit

1
See AD, Ex. 16 at 230 (DC: Marks October 19, 2001, letter reflects a legally enforceable
agreement to resolve all claims at issue here), 252 (DC: This Court should grant judgment as a
matter of law on DCs settlement counterclaims and dismiss the remainder of this appeal on that
basis.); Ex. 18 at 316 (DC: Judgment should be entered in DCs favor, and the 2001 settlement
agreement should be enforced.), 318 (DC: [The evidence] justifies this Court entering
judgment in DCs favor.), 324 (DC: The Court should enter judgment in DCs favor on its
settlement defense.).
#:15419

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remanded for further proceedings. See Doe v. State of Nebraska, 2002 WL 225907,
at *6 (D. Neb. Dec. 14, 2002) ([T]he mandate issued in this case makes clear that
some additional inquiry is necessary. I see no other reason why the [] Circuit
would remand this case for reconsideration in light of [opinion], if such analysis
were not required.).
If the Circuit thought its ruling on the October 19, 2001 Letter disposed of
DCs counterclaims, it would have said so. See Lancaster v. Tilton, 2007 U.S. Dist.
LEXIS 48403, at *9-10 (N.D. Cal. June 21, 2007) (rejecting argument about effect of
a Circuit ruling because [h]ad the court intended [that effect], it could have done so
explicitly). The fact that the Circuit instead remand[ed] for further proceedings
indicate[s] that [it] believed that there was more to do. Edgerly v. City & County of
San Francisco, 2011 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 155192, at *7 (N.D. Cal. May 26, 2011)
And there [is] indeed more to do. Id. at *8. [A] mandate is controlling as
to all matters within its compass, while leaving any issue not expressly or impliedly
disposed of on appeal available for consideration by the trial court on remand.
Odima v. Westin Tucson Hotel, 53 F.3d 1484, 1497 (9th Cir. 1995) (quoting Firth v.
United States, 554 F.2d 990, 993-94 (9th Cir. 1977)).
Thus, when a court is confronted with issues that the remanding court never
considered, the mandate requires respect for what the higher court decided, not what
it did not decide. Hall v. City of L.A., 697 F.3d 1059, 1067 (9th Cir. 2012). [A]ny
issue not decided by the court of appeals may be addressed by the district court on
remand, even if such issue varies or expands the scope of the original record.
Campanelli v. Bockrath, 1997 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 7981, at *8 (N.D. Cal. June 4, 1997)
(citing Edlin v. M/V Truthseeker, 69 F.3d 392, 393 (9th Cir. 1995)).
While the Circuit held that there was an agreement on October 19, 2001, the
issue now is what, if anything, that means today. As detailed below in Section II,
there are a host of reasons under well-established contract law why the October 19,
2001 Letter is no longer enforceable based on DCs refusal to abide by it. As DCs
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own counsel told the Ninth Circuit, [t]he question of whether the subsequent events
undid the prior agreement or didnt undo the prior agreement, thats a fact question
that should not be decided on summary judgment. SGI 55; AD, Ex. 19 at 345.
DC has not even attempted to show that it is entitled to summary judgment on
any of these critical issues, as they implicate numerous issues of material fact
precluding summary judgment in DCs favor.
II. ISSUES OF MATERIAL FACT PREVENT SUMMARY JUDGMENT
A. The October 19, 2001 Letter Did Not Transfer The Copyrights And
DC Is Not Entitled To A Declaration Of Rights To That Effect
1. The Letters Language Does Not Support DCs Interpretation
DCs motion requests a declaratory judgment that the October 19, 2001 Letter
actively transferred the Siegels copyrights at the time the letter was signed.
2
The
Ninth Circuit made no such ruling, as it is contrary to the Letters plain language.
Under California contract law, the interpretation of a contact must give effect
to the mutual intention of the parties at the time the contract is formed. Waller
v. Truck Ins. Exch., Inc., 11 Cal. 4th 1, 18 (1995) (quoting Cal. Civ. Code 1636,
1639). When a contract is reduced to writing, the intention of the parties is to be
ascertained from the writing alone, if possible. Cal. Civ. Code 1639.
Here, the October 19, 2001 Letter is plain. The Siegel family agreed only that
it would transfer all of its rights in the Superman properties. SGI 6 (emph.
added). At most, this shows an intent to transfer the copyrights at some future date.
A mere promise to assign rights in the future is not an actual assignment. SCO
Group, Inc. v. Novell, Inc., 2004 WL 4737297 (D. Utah June 9, 2004); see Lil Red
Barn, Inc. v. Red Barn Sys., Inc., 322 F. Supp. 98, 106-07 (N.D. Ind. 1970) (The
wording of the contract here demonstrates clearly that neither of the parties intended

2
See Dkt. 702 at 1 (DCs Fourth Counterclaim sought a declaration that the settlement
agreement was enforceable and that DC owns all of the Superman and Superboy copyright); 702-5
(DCs Proposed Judgment) at 1 (In the parties October 19, 2001, settlement agreement, Larson
transfer[red] all of [their] rights to DC, resulting in 100% ownership to D.C. Comics. This
complete transfer bars Larsons remaining claims.) (alterations in original) (emphasis added).
#:15421

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the reassignment to have any immediate legal effect.); Arachnid, Inc. v. Merit
Indus., Inc., 939 F.2d 1574, 1581 (Fed. Cir. 1991) (Although an agreement to assign
in the future [patent rights] may vest the promisee with equitable rights such an
agreement does not by itself vest legal title to [the rights] in the promise.).
DC admitted that the October 19, 2001 Letter provided that rights would be
transferred in the future, not that they had already been transferred. SGI 46.
The plain language of the October 19, 2001 Letter bars DCs interpretation that
it actively transferred copyrights to DC. It would be reversible error for this Court
on summary judgment to contradict that plain language and declare that it did. See
Industrial Indemnity v. Superior Court, 224 Cal. App. 3d 828, 832 (1990) (We
decline to rewrite the clear terms of the contract. When parties have entered into
an unambiguous contract courts will not write a new contract for them.).
2. Any Ambiguity Must Be Resolved By The Trier Of Fact
DC may argue that the term would transfer is somehow susceptible to its
interpretation. If the Court accepts that the term would is ambiguous as opposed
to flatly contradicting DCs interpretation summary judgment in DCs favor
remains improper. Words are ambiguous if they are susceptible of more than one
construction or interpretation. Castaneda v. Dura-Vent Corp., 648 F.2d 612, 619
(9th Cir. 1981). What the parties intended by an ambiguous contract is a triable
issue of fact. Id. at 619-20. As a matter of contract law and civil procedure, would
transfer cannot be read as hereby transfers on summary judgment against the non-
movant. See Maffei v. N. Ins. Co. of N.Y., 12 F.3d 892, 898 (9th Cir. 1993)
([S]ummary judgment is improper because different views of the intent of parties
will raise genuine issues of material fact.).
3. The Circuit Did Not Hold That The Siegels Assigned Rights
In reply, DC will selectively quote the Circuits opinion out of context as
purported support for its argument that the October 19, 2001 Letter actively
transferred rights. DC has already alluded to such arguments, which misinterpret the
#:15422

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Circuits decision. Mot. at 7. Ms. Larson argued on appeal that (a) the October 19,
2001 Letter was not a valid contract because it was not a writing signed by both
parties; and (b) the October 19, 2001 Letter did not comply with the Copyright Acts
writing requirement in 204(a). SGI 56. In response, the Ninth Circuit held:

[U]nder Californias statute of frauds, the only signature that is required
is that of the party against whom a contract is sought to be enforced.
See Ulloa v. McMillin Real Estate & Mortg., Inc., 149 Cal. App. 4th 333,
57 Cal. Rptr. 3d 1, 4-5 (Cal. Ct. App. 2007); see also 1 B.E. Witkin,
Summary of California Law, Contracts 359 (10th ed. 2005). Nor is 17
U.S.C. 204(a) a bar to the validity of any such contract; that statute
expressly permits an agreement transferring ownership of a copyright to
be signed by a duly authorized agent of the copyright owner, and Larson
does not contest that the heirs attorney was such an agent.
Larson, 2013 U.S. App. LEXIS 671, at *5-6 (emphasis added). Thus the Circuit
merely held that the statute of frauds and 204(a)s writing requirement is not a bar
to the validity of the October 19, 2001 Letter. The Circuit did not determine that the
would transfer language of October 19, 2001 Letter actually transferred any rights,
and remanded such contract issues to this Court for adjudication in the first instance.
Tellingly, the Circuit held that because a judgment on [the Third and Fourth
Counterclaims] in DCs favor would appear to render moot all of the other questions
in this lawsuit, we decline to address these other issues at this time. Id. at *6
(emphasis added). If the Circuit had ruled, as DC claims, that Ms. Larson had
transferred all of her recaptured Superman copyrights to DC in the October 19, 2001
Letter, such other issues (e.g., the work for hire issues on appeal that determine
which Superman works were subject to statutory termination) would already be
moot. The Circuits closing phrase at this time further indicates that these issues
are still in play pending adjudication of the contract issues remanded to this Court.
4. A Judgment That The Siegels Are Obliged To Transfer
Rights To DC Would Not Settle The Issue
In reply, DC may switch gears and argue for a declaration that Ms. Larson is
contractually obliged to transfer her recaptured copyrights. SGI 41.
However, a declaration that Ms. Larson is still obligated, under the October 19,
#:15423

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2001 Letter, to transfer her Superman rights to DC is procedurally flawed and does
little to resolve this matter. Courts recognize a clear distinction between a declaration
of rights under a contract and specific performance, in which the court orders a party
to perform. See Mycogen Corp. v. Monsanto Co., 28 Cal. 4th 888, 898 (2002)
(Unlike coercive relief (such as [] specific performance, or an injunction) a
declaratory judgment merely declares the legal relationship between the parties.).
Without an order of specific performance, DC would still not own the recaptured
copyrights. See Barndt v. County of L.A., 211 Cal. App. 3d 397, 406 n.12 (1989)
(Plaintiff argues that even though specific performance may not be available here,
he is entitled to litigate his cause of action for declaratory relief. .[T]hat remedy
does not avail plaintiff anything. [A] declaration of rights and liabilities under the
settlement agreement would be inconsequential in the absence of any enforceable
remedy.). Mere declaratory relief is not a solution. If affirmed, DC would still have
to seek specific performance. If reversed, all of the issues below would also remain
to be litigated. Granting DC a premature judgment will only lead to problems on
appeal and further delay a complete and final resolution of this case. Dkt. 708 at 10.
B. DC Is Not Entitled To Specific Performance
DC may attempt on reply to seek specific performance i.e., an order that Ms.
Larson must transfer her copyrights to DC but that is procedurally defective. DC
failed to move on this ground, and cannot do so on reply. Abdulkhalik v. City of San
Diego, 2009 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 110062, at *33 (S.D. Cal. Nov. 25, 2009) (The City
failed to move for summary judgment on the [] claim in its initial motion. Raising
[this] for the first time in a reply brief is inappropriate and will not be considered by
the Court.), citing Zamani v. Carnes, 491 F.3d 990, 997 (9th Cir. 2007).
3

DC is also not entitled to specific performance. Under California law,

3
As a matter of due process, the Court would need to give notice and a reasonable time to
respond to Ms. Larson before judgment could be entered on grounds not raised by DC. Fed. R.
Civ. P. 56(f); see Portsmouth Square, Inc. v. Shareholders Protective Comm., 770 F.2d 866, 869
(9th Cir. 1985) (noting that a sua sponte grant of summary judgment must meet the requirements
of the Federal Rules and the demands of due process).
#:15424

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[s]pecific performance is not itself a cause of action, but rather a remedy for breach
of contract. Golden West Baseball Co. v. City of Anaheim, 25 Cal. App. 4th 11, 49
(1994) (emphasis added). See also Katz v. Cal-Western Reconveyance Corp., 2010
U.S. Dist. LEXIS 98940, at *15 (N.D. Cal. Sept. 21, 2010) ([S]pecific performance
is a remedy for breach of contract, a cause of action which requires proof the contract
was breached.). A plaintiff seeking specific performance must therefore first prove
a breach of contract. Id. Instead, DCs motion affirmatively asks the Court to
dismiss [] as moot its Third Counterclaim for breach of contract. Dkt. 702-5 at 2.
Moreover, [a] cause of action for breach of contract requires proof of the
following elements: (1) existence of the contract; (2) plaintiffs performance or
excuse for nonperformance; (3) defendants breach; and (4) damages to plaintiff as a
result of the breach. CDF Firefighters v. Maldonado, 158 Cal. App. 4th 1226, 1239
(2008). In addition to demonstrating these elements of breach, to establish a right to
specific performance DC must also show that (1) [the] terms are sufficiently
definite; (2) consideration is adequate; (3) there is substantial similarity of the
requested performance to the contractual terms; (4) there is mutuality of remedies;
and (5) plaintiffs legal remedy is inadequate. Union Oil Co. of California v. Greka
Energy Corp., 165 Cal. App. 4th 129, 134 (2008) (quoting Blackburn v. Charnley,
117 Cal. App. 4th 758, 766 (2004)).
Here, the Circuit held only that a contract was formed on October 19, 2001.
DCs motion is entirely silent on the other three requirements for a breach of
contract, and the five requirements for specific performance
4
for good reason. It
cannot meet them as a matter of law and, in any event, they raise genuine issues of
material fact barring summary judgment in DCs favor.

4
As DC did not address the elements of specific performance in its motion, Ms. Larson does not
fully address the specific performance elements here. Among other factual issues presented by
such elements is whether DCs agreed payments were adequate consideration for the Siegels rights
underlying the multi-billion-dollar Superman franchise. See Walters v. Calderon, 25 Cal. App.
3d 863, 875 (1972) ([T]here is the further question of whether the consideration is adequate to
warrant the equitable relief requested and that the consideration must be equitably adequate.).
#:15425

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1. DC Did Not Perform Or Even Offer To Perform
In order to show performance by DC sufficient to obtain specific
performance from Ms. Larson, DC must have (a) performed, (b) offered to have
performed, or (c) proved a sufficient excuse for not performing, all the conditions
required of [it] by the agreement. Beverage v. Canton Pacer Mining Co., 43 Cal. 2d
769, 777 (1955) (emph. added); see Ninety Nine Invest. v. Overseas Courier Service
(Sing.) Priv., 113 Cal. App. 4th 1118, 1126 (2003) (To obtain specific performance,
[a plaintiff] must establish its own performance or excuse for nonperformance.);
Cal. Civ. Code 1439 (for specific performance a party must fulfill all conditions
precedent and must be able and offer to fulfill all conditions concurrent).
DC indisputably did not perform or offer to perform all conditions required
of it by the October 19, 2001 Letter. For instance, DC agreed to provide the Siegels:
(1) [a] non-returnable, non-recoupable signing bonus of [$]1,000,000; (2) [a] non-
returnable, but recoupable advance of $2,000,000; (3) additional payments, starting
with $500,000 on March 31, 2002; (4) royalty statements starting on March 31, 2002;
(5) credit By Special Arrangement with the Jerry Siegel Family on all Superman
publications starting October 19, 2001; and (6) medical and dental insurance. SGI
6. DC did none of this nor even offered to do it. SGI 24, 32. Instead, DC
conditioned its performance on the new and revised terms, all in DCs favor, in its
October 26, 2001 Letter and February 1, 2002 Draft, and tried to muscle the Siegels
into changing the terms in the October 19, 2001 Letter. SGI 8-24.
DC has claimed that it performed when it allegedly negotiate[ed] for [the
Siegels] to receive their credits on Superman Returns and set up a reserve
account for payments. SGI 43. This is highly disputed; the Siegels received no
such credit and it appears that DCs account never existed. SGI 45, 62. Even if
DC took these small steps, it would still fall far short of the necessary performance of
all the conditions required of DC in the October 19, 2001 Letter.
Although DC subsequently alleged that it was ready and willing to tender
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performance in 2001 (Dkt. 646 99), DC never once actually offered to
perform[] all the conditions required. Beverage, 43 Cal. 2d at 777. Indeed, it was
not until January 29, 2013 that DC sent a letter purporting to tender performance
under the October 19, 2001 Letter. SGI 60. This was eleven years too late.
5
DC
should have performed, or at least offered to perform, in 2001, or by March 31,
2002, its agreed payment and accounting deadline. Instead, DC continued to grind
the Siegels and act as though it were not bound by the October 19, 2001 Letter.
DCs rushed motion does not even address, let alone prove [] a sufficient
excuse for, its nonperformance. Beverage, 43 Cal. 2d 769, 777. DCs motion must
be denied. See Vaxiion Therapeutics, Inc. v. Foley & Lardner, LLP, 593 F. Supp. 2d
1153, 1161 (S.D. Cal. 2008) ([T]o obtain a summary judgment, the moving party
must offer evidence sufficient to support a finding upon every element of his
claim.) (quotations/citations omitted); Dobson v. Twin City Fire Ins. Co., 2012 U.S.
Dist. LEXIS 93823, at *16 (C.D. Cal. July 5, 2012) (denying summary judgment
where plaintiff failed to show performance or excuse for nonperformance).
2. The Failure To Complete A Long-Form Agreement Did Not
Excuse DCs Non-Performance
DC represented to the Circuit that the only terms are those contained in
October 19, 2001 Letter. SGI 52-53; AD, Ex. 19 at 346:23-347:1 (DC: Our
position is [the terms are] everything in this letter, nothing more.). DC thus cannot
argue that its performance (e.g., payment by the March 31, 2002 deadline, credit on
publications after October 19, 2001) was conditioned on a long-form agreement
because that condition appears nowhere in the October 19, 2001 Letter. The Circuit
held that the October 19, 2001 Letter was sufficient to constitute an agreement, citing
Facebook, Inc. v. Pac. Nw. Software, Inc., 640 F.3d 1034, 1038 (9th Cir. 2011),
which held a short-form agreement was binding even though everyone understood

5
Even DCs January 29, 2013 letter and subsequent letters continued to hedge and leverage DCs
position, as it did not provide the royalty accounting required to determine if DC was complying
with the royalty scheme in the October 19, 2001 Letter, and DC asserted an unlimited right to
offset its claims against the amounts owed pursuant to the October 19, 2001 Letter. SGI 60-61.
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that some material aspects of the deal would be papered later. Thus, when a long-
form agreement was not consummated within a reasonable time or by March 31,
2002, DC was obliged under the October 19, 2001 Letter to at least tender
performance in exchange for the Siegels performance, but never did.
Even if a long-form was somehow construed as a condition precedent to
DCs obligations, contrary to Facebook, DC frustrated that condition precedent by its
concerted delay (waiting 3 months to provide its draft, SGI 18) and failure to
negotiate the long-form in good faith. SGI 6-28. See City of Hollister v. Monterey
Ins. Co., 165 Cal. App. 4th 455, 508 (2008) (A party to a contract may not avail
itself of a condition precedent where by its own conduct it has rendered compliance
therewith impossible.) (quotation omitted).
3. The Siegels Did Not Breach The Letter
DC has pled that it did not perform because the Siegels supposedly breached
the October 19, 2001 Letter first. SGI 38. This raises a whole host of disputed
factual issues as to who did what and when, and whose performance was thereafter
excused. As detailed below, the Siegels did not breach the October 19, 2001 Letter
because their performance was excused by (a) DCs anticipatory breach, (b) DCs
actual breach, (c) the Siegels warranted rescission based on DCs anticipatory and
actual breach, and (d) DCs acquiescence or abandonment of any agreement.
a. DCs Anticipatory Breach/Repudiation
Under California law, once a party anticipatorily breaches or repudiates a
contract, the other party is no longer bound by the contract and need not perform.
Ferguson v. City of Cathedral City, 197 Cal. App. 4th 1161, 1169 (2011) (quotations
omitted); see Local 659, I.A.T.S.E. v. Color Corp. of America, 47 Cal. 2d 189, 198
(1956) (A repudiation of a contract excuses performance.). A party repudiates
an agreement if, like DC, it attempts to change or add new terms to the agreement.
See Mammoth Lakes Land Acquisition, LLC v. Town of Mammoth Lakes, 191 Cal.
App. 4th 435, 467 (2010) (Annexing an unwarranted condition to an offer of
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performance is a refusal to perform.); Loop Building Co. v. De Coo, 97 Cal. App.
354, 364 (1929) (If one who is bound to perform a contract annexes an unwarranted
condition to his offer of performance, there is, in effect, a refusal to perform.).
Here, Marks October 19, 2001 Letter listed the specific terms of the
agreement. SGI 6. As DC admitted before the Ninth Circuit, these were the only
terms that the parties had agreed to. SGI 52; AD, Ex. 19 at 346:23-347:1 (DC: Our
position is [the terms are] everything in this letter, nothing more.). The October 19,
2001 Letter should have ended the matter. Had DC acted in good faith, confirmed
that the terms were those that the parties had agreed upon, obeyed its terms, and
adapted the letter into a simple agreement for signature, there would be no dispute.
However, DC refused to do this or abide by the deal. As Marks testified,
Judge Larson ruled, and the Ninth Circuit did not dispute, Schulmans more fulsome
outline of the parties agreement in his October 26, 2001 Letter contained numerous
terms that were materially different from the October 19, 2001 Letter. SGI 8-16,
47. See Pacific Coast Engineering Co. v. Merritt-Chapman & Scott Corp., 411 F.2d
889, 895 (9th Cir. 1969) (If the offeror is not asserting a good faith interpretation of
the contract terms, that fact may be evidence that he is repudiating the agreement.).
Schulmans outline expanded the agreement to require the Siegels to assign
additional copyrights to DC, added numerous reductions to the Siegels royalty,
changed when and where credit would be given to the Siegels, and tacked on a host
of new warranty and indemnification provisions. SGI 8-16.
DC now backtracks, arguing that [t]o the extent that Mr. Shulmans [October
26, 2001] letter is perceived to have added terms or suggested new terms, theyre not
part of the deal. SGI 53; AD, Ex. 19 at 347:1-4.
But at the time, DC doubled down and insisted on even more favorable terms.
As Marks testified and Judge Larson ruled, DCs February 1, 2002 Draft was not just
different from the October 19, 2001 Letter, it was vastly different. SGI 19-21.
DC attempted to reduce the Siegels royalty even further, and expanded the instances
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in which the Siegels would receive no royalty payments at all. SGI 21. Marks also
testified in detail about the drafts deceptive accounting trap doors. Id. When the
Siegels duly objected, DC falsely insisted that its February 1, 2002 Draft accurately
represented the agreement previously reached. SGI 26.
As with the October 26, 2001 Letter, DC now disavows the February 1, 2002
Draft and says the opposite. SGI 54; AD, Ex. 16 at 239 ([E]ven if the February
2002 draft included different terms, it is the new terms that would be unenforceable,
not the October 19 terms.), 240 (The 56 pages drafted by DCs lawyers were just
thatpages drafted by DCs lawyers.).
Notwithstanding DCs current self-serving spin, in 2001-02, when it mattered,
DC did not accept the terms of the October 19, 2001 Letter. Instead, it repudiated
them by demanding terms different from the original contract and/or insisting that
the contracts meaning or legal effect [were] different from the true meaning or
effect. Darling Intl, Inc. Baywood Partners, Inc., 2007 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 50985, at
*85 (N.D. Cal. July 13, 2007) (quotations omitted). See Johnson v. Goldberg, 130
Cal. App. 2d 571, 576 (1955) (Annexing an unwarranted condition to an offer of
performance is a refusal to perform, making tender and demand by the other party
unnecessary.); Mammoth Lakes Land Acquisition, LLC, 191 Cal. App. at 467
(same); Loop Building Co., 97 Cal. App. at 364 (same).
The cold hard truth is that DC did not once indicate a willingness to be bound
by or perform under the October 19, 2001 Letter until over three years later in an
effort to thwart the Siegels suit to enforce their statutory terminations. This is too
little, too late, because Ms. Larson already acted on DCs repudiation of the October
19, 2001 Letter when she ended negotiations and filed suit. See Freedman v. St.
Matthias Parish, 37 Cal. 2d 16, 19 (1951) (holding a repudiationif acted upon by
defendant before it was retracted, would excuse performance on defendants part and
make plaintiffs repudiation a total breach of contract); Pichignau v. Paris, 264 Cal.
App. 2d 138, 141-42 (1968) (if a party desires to retract his repudiation and restore
#:15430

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the agreement to its former vigor, the action must be taken before the other party has
changed his position) (emphasis added). Viewed in the light most favorable to Ms.
Larson, DCs October 26, 2001 Letter and February 1, 2002 Draft were clear
repudiations of the October 19, 2001 Letter. See Pacific Coast Engineering Co., 411
F.2d at 894 (In each case, it is a question of fact whether or not a party has
committed an anticipatory breach by repudiating the contract.).
b. DCs Actual Breach
After DC anticipatorily breached, it did not retract its outline or draft, nor
honor the October 19, 2001 Letter. Instead, DC proceeded to actually breach its
promises. The October 19, 2001 Letter made it clear that DC would pay an annual
guarantee of $500,000 on March 31, 2002 for the year 2002-03. SGI 6. DCs
October 26, 2001 Letter and the February 1, 2002 Draft said the same thing. SGI
17, 23. The October 19, 2001 Letter also required DC to provide the Siegels with a
royalty accounting on March 31, 2002 (and additional payment to the extent the
royalty exceeded DCs advance payments). SGI 6. DC did not pay or even offer to
pay that $500,000, nor did it provide a royalty accounting to the Siegels, on March
31, 2002, materially breaching DCs agreement. SGI 24, 32. The October 19,
2001 Letter also required DC to give the Siegel family credit on all subsequent
Superman publications, which DC did not do or offer to do. SGI 6, 32.
DCs breach of the October 19, 2001 Letter prevents DC from proving its own
performance an essential element of its claims. See Brown v. Grimes, 192 Cal.
App. 4th 265, 277 (2011) (When a partys failure to perform a contract obligation
constitutes a material breach of the contract, the other party may be discharged from
its duty to perform under the contract.); Posner v. Grunwald-Marx, Inc., 56 Cal. 2d
169, 187 (1961) (noting substantial performance is required for breach of contract
claim; [w]hat constitutes substantial performance is a question of fact, but it is
essential that there be no willful departure from the terms of the contract.).
In addition, DC promised to make two other payments under the October 19,
#:15431

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2001 agreement a $1 million signing bonus and a $2 million recoupable advance
for the period beginning January 1, 2000. SGI 6. Under Cal. Civ. Code 1657,
[i]f the act is in its nature capable of being done instantly as, for example, if it
consists in the payment of money only it must be performed immediately upon the
thing to be done being exactly ascertained. The $1 million signing bonus should
have thus been paid immediately after the October 19, 2001 agreement was signed,
and DCs non-performance breached its promise to pay.
As to the $2 million advance, under California law, [i]f no time is specified
for the performance of an act required to be performed, a reasonable time is allowed.
Cal. Civ. Code 1657. It would not make sense to pay a $500,000 annual
guarantee on March 31, 2002 for 2002-03, before paying a $2 million advance
designed to cover the period beginning January 1, 2000. The reasonable time to
pay the $2 million was prior to March 31, 2002, and DC breached this term as well.
Actions speak louder than words: whatever DC says now, it did not consider
the October 19, 2001 Letter enforceable when the time came for DC to perform in
2002. Instead, DC simply breached, and such breaches preclude DCs current after-
the-fact efforts to enforce the October 19, 2001 Letter against Ms. Larson.
c. The Siegels Rescission
Under California law, one party may rescind a contract if the other refuses or
fails to fully perform. See Cal. Civ. Code 1689(b) (rescission permitted if
performance fails in a material respect from any cause); Loop Bldg. Co., 97 Cal.
App. at 364 (A refusal or failure of a party fully to perform his part of the
contract gives the other party a right to rescind.). The rescinding party need only
give notice to the other party. Cal. Civ. Code 1691. The notice need not be
formal and explicit; it must simply show[] the intention of the person rescinding
to consider the contract at an end. Hull v. Ray, 211 Cal. 164, 167 (1930).
DC failed to perform or offer to perform, and implicitly conditioned its
performance on the Siegels acceptance of DCs new terms, giving the Siegels a right
#:15432

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to rescind. See U.S. for Use of Bldg. Rentals Corp. v. W. Cas. & Sur. Co., 498 F.2d
335, 339 (9th Cir. 1974) ([R]escission is justified where there is either an extended
and unreasonable delay [or] imposition of new and onerous conditions to
payment.); Rubin v. Fuchs, 1 Cal. 3d 50, 53 (1969) (defendants were entitled to,
and did, rescind the contract because plaintiff did not make payment under contract).
For instance, DC failed to provide a royalty statement to the Siegels by March
31, 2001, as agreed in the October 19, 2001 Letter, and failed to pay or offer to pay
the Siegels their royalties. It is well-settled that a breach of the royalty provisions in
a copyright contract can give rise to a right of rescission. See Peer Intl Corp. v.
Pausa Records, Inc., 909 F.2d 1332, 1335 (9th Cir. 1990) (holding there was no
triable issue of fact that plaintiff had right to rescind where although [defendant]
made sporadic payments, they never complied with the royalty and accounting
requirements of copyright agreement); Irwin v. American Interactive Media, 1994
U.S. Dist. LEXIS 16223, at *17-19 (C.D. Cal. Apr. 14, 1994) (holding there was a
triable issue of fact as to whether Defendants failure to pay [$2,000] constituted a
material breach of the [copyright] license entitling Plaintiff to revocation of license).
Joanne Siegel properly invoked her right of rescission and provided DC with
notice in a letter she sent on May 9, 2002:

. Negotiations dragged on for four difficult years. We made
painful concessions assured if we did we would arrive at an
agreement. When we made these difficult concessions and reluctantly
accepted [DCs] last proposal [on October 19, 2001]we were
stabbed in the back by a shocking contract.
Your companys unconscionable contract dated February [1], 2002
contained new, outrageous demands that were not in the [October 16]
proposal. .
After four years we have no deal and this [February 1] contract makes
an agreement impossible.
SGI 25. See Wilson v. Lewis, 106 Cal. App. 3d 802, 809 (1980) ([I]f facts exist
that justify a rescission by one party, and he declares a rescission in some effectual
manner, he terminates the contract.); Jaunich v. Natl Union Fire Ins. Co. of
Pittsburgh, PA., 647 F. Supp. 209, 21516 (N.D.Cal.1986) (affirming valid rescission
#:15433

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sent three months after learning basis for rescission); Cal. Civ. Code 1693. The
Siegels September 21, 2002 letter confirmed their rescission by formal notification
that we are totally stopping and ending all negotiations with DC. SGI 29.
At a minimum, this raises genuine issues of material fact that cannot be
decided on DCs perfunctory motion. See Fed. Deposit Ins. Corp. v. Air Florida
Sys., Inc., 822 F.2d 833, 840 (9th Cir. 1987) (Whether a breach [is] sufficient to
be deemed material and thus to warrant rescission is a question of fact properly
determined by the trial court.); Hil-Mac Corp. v. Mendo Wood Products, Inc., 235
Cal. App. 2d 526, 530 (1965) (The determination of whether a party entitled to
rescind a contract has [rescinded] depends upon the particular facts of each case.
The question is one of fact, to be resolved in the first instance by the trier of fact.).
d. DCs Acquiescence and Abandonment
After Joanne Siegel sent her May 9, 2002 letter rescinding the October 19,
2001 Letter due to DCs breach (SGI 25), DC acquiesced. DCs May 21, 2002
letter in response did not argue that the Siegels were in breach or had otherwise acted
improperly (SGI 28), nor did DC claim any rights under the October 19, 2001
Letter. SGI 33; see Grunwald-Marx, Inc. v. Los Angeles Joint Board, Amalgamated
Clothing Workers 192 Cal. App. 2d 268, 279-280 (1961) (It is well settled that an
abandonment of a contract may be implied from the acts of the parties and this may
be accomplished by the repudiation of the contract by one of the parties and by the
acquiescence of the other party.) (citations omitted); Griffin v. Beresa, Inc., 143
Cal. App. 2d 299, 301 (1956) ([A]bandonment of a contract may be
accomplished by the repudiation of the contract by one of the parties and the
acquiescence of the other party in such repudiation....).
After the Siegels September 21, 2002 letter providing formal notification
that they were totally stopping and ending all negotiations (SGI 29), DC again did
absolutely nothing. DC did not assert that it owned the Siegels recaptured
copyrights pursuant to the October 19, 2001 Letter or say anything about the October
#:15434

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19, 2001 Letter. SGI 33; see McCreary v. Mercury Lumber Distributors, 124 Cal.
App. 2d 477, 486 (1957) (holding that acquiescence is shown by the absence of a
showing that [the plaintiff] claimed any further rights under the old contract prior to
the commencement of the subject action).
Then, in 2003-04, DC simply recommenced negotiations with the Siegels,
further acquiescing in their rescission. SGI 31; see McCreary, 124 Cal. App. at 486
(Acquiescence is shown by the negotiations for a new contract.); Freeman v.
Mostafavi, 2005 Cal. App. Unpub. LEXIS 10154, at *24 (Cal. App. 2d Dist. Nov. 8,
2005) (Rescission may be implied from the negotiation of a new and different
contract regarding the same subject matter.); Honda v. Reed, 156 Cal. App. 2d 536,
539 (1958) (Abandonment may be implied from negotiating for a new and
different contract concerning the same property or subject matter.).
DCs behavior over this three-year period (2001-04) when it acted as though
there were no binding agreement, recommenced negotiations, and never claimed
rights raises genuine issues of material fact as to acquiescence that cannot be
properly decided now. See Daugherty Co. v. Kimberly-Clark Corp., 14 Cal. App. 3d
151, 155 (1971) (conflict of facts prevented summary judgment on acquiescence).
III. FEDERAL COPYRIGHT LAW PREVENTS SUMMARY JUDGMENT
AS TO SUPERBOY AND THE SUPERMAN ADS
To the extent DCs motion seeks the transfer of Ms. Larsons copyrights to
Superboy recaptured by her 2002 termination notice, or the early Superman Ads
6
to
be recaptured by her 2012 termination (not pled), it is barred by the Copyright Act.
When Congress created the termination right, it expressly provided that authors and
heirs cannot anticipatorily re-grant their copyrights; rather, they can only re-grant
their copyrights back to the terminated grantee after the notice of termination has
been served. 17 U.S.C. 304(c)(6)(D) (emphasis added).
DCs assertion that the October 19, 2001 Letter transferred the copyrights to

6
DC concedes that these Ads, in fact, clearly do depict Supermans S-shield, super-strength,
costume, and facial features and grant a copyright interest in such elements. SGI 57.
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Superboy is a legal impossibility. The Superboy termination notice was not served
until November 8, 2002, and not effective until November 17, 2004; the Ads
termination notice was not served until 2012, and does not take effect until 2014.
SGI 30, 63. The October 19, 2001 Letter, as a matter of law, could not have re-
granted these copyrights years before the notices were served.
Nor can the October 19, 2001 Letter be read to waive, settle or release the
Siegels termination right or termination interest regarding Superboy or the Ads. In a
further effort to protect authors and their heirs from publishers superior bargaining
power, Congress made the termination right inalienable. N.Y. Times v. Tasini, 533
U.S. 483, 496 (2001) (emphasizing the inalienable right to revoke a copyright
transfer). Congress was explicit that [t]ermination of the grant may be effected
notwithstanding any agreement to the contrary, including an agreement to make a
will or to make any future grant. 17 U.S.C. 304(c)(5). Thus to the extent DC
argues that the October 19, 2001 Letter settled Ms. Larsons termination right as to
Superboy or the Ads, it is unenforceable. See Marvel Characters v. Simon, 310 F.3d
280, 291 (2d Cir. 2002) (to the extent settlement agreement characterized works as
non-terminable works for hire it is void as agreement to the contrary).
DC will likely attempt to circumvent the Copyright Acts protections by
arguing that the October 19, 2001 Letter somehow revoked Jerome Siegels
venerable pre-1978 copyrights grants and simultaneously re-granted his original
copyrights to DC. See Milne v. Stephen Slesinger, Inc., 430 F.3d 1036, 1044-46 (9th
Cir. 2005); Classic Media, Inc. v. Mewborn, 532 F.3d 978, 982 (9th Cir. 2008).
However, in light of Congress clear objectives, the Ninth Circuit has made
plain that any such revocation and re-grant must be express. Milne, 430 F.3d at
1040; Mewborn, 532 F.3d at 989. Here, nothing in the October 19, 2001 Letter even
suggests, let alone expressly states, that the parties intended to revoke Jerome
Siegels copyright grants and to re-grant his copyrights. SGI 6, 52-53; AD, Ex. 19
at 346:23-347:1 (DC: Our position is [the terms are] everything in this [October 19]
#:15436

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letter, nothing more.). The letter simply states: The Siegel Family would transfer
all of its rights in the Superman and Spectre properties (including Superboy).
SGI 6. There is no mention of revocation and without a clear and unequivocal
revocation the Siegels had no Superboy rights to transfer to DC in 2001 (prior to their
2002 termination), as DC has owned Superboy since 1948. Siegel v. Time Warner
Inc., 496 F. Supp. 2d 1111, 1119 (C.D. Cal. 2007).
Tellingly, while the October 19, 2001 Letter contains no language of
revocation or regrant (SGI 6), Schulmans October 26, 2001 outline and DCs
February 1, 2002 draft both do. SGI 11, 22. This hurts DC, more than helps. The
Siegels unequivocally rejected DCs new terms. SGI 25. And DC concedes that
[t]o the extent that [the October 26, 2001] letter is perceived to have added terms or
suggested new terms, theyre not part of the deal. AD, Ex. 19 at 347:1-4; see also
AD, Ex. 18 at 316 (If any material difference does exist, DC has long agreed: the
October 19 letter controls.). In short, the relief DC seeks cannot end the Siegel
Superboy case (C.D. Cal. Case No. 04-CV-08776) because the October 19, 2001
Letter could not anticipatorily settle or transfer the Siegels Superboy termination
interest until after the Superboy termination was served on November 8, 2002.
CONCLUSION
DCs groundless motion for summary judgment must be denied.
Dated: March 4, 2013 RESPECTFULLY SUBMITTED,
/s/ Marc Toberoff
Attorneys for Plaintiff, Laura Siegel Larson

#:15437

PLAINTIFFS STATEMENT OF GENUINE ISSUES RE: DCS MOTION FOR SUMMARY JUDGMENT

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[email protected]
[email protected]
[email protected]
[email protected]
22337 Pacific Coast Highway #348
Malibu, California 90265
Telephone: (310) 246-3333
Fax: (310) 246-3101



JOANNE SIEGEL,
Plaintiff,
v.
Defendants and
Counterclaimants.
Case No: CV 04-8400 ODW (RZx)*
Case No: CV 04-8776 ODW (RZx)*


PLAINTIFFS STATEMENT OF
GENUINE ISSUES AND
ADDITIONAL FACTS RE: DC
COMICS MOTION FOR SUMMARY
JUDGMENT IN THE SIEGEL
SUPERMAN AND SUPERBOY CASES

Opposition Brief and Declaration of Keith
Adams filed concurrently

Time: 1:30 p.m.*

the motion(s) under submission and hold a
hearing if necessary. Dkt. 707. Docket
08400.

JOANNE SIEGEL,
Plaintiff,
v.
and DOES 1-10,
Defendants and
Counterclaimants.
Case 2:04-cv-08400-ODW-RZ Document 709-1 Filed 03/04/13 Page 1 of 28 Page ID
#:15438

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PLAINTIFFS STATEMENT OF GENUINE ISSUES

DCs Alleged Uncontroverted Fact Plaintiffs Response
1 DCs Fact: The agreement set forth
in Kevin Marks October 19, 2001,
letter to John Schulman states:

The Property means all Superman,
Superboy and related properties
(including, for example, Supergirl,
Steel, Lois & Clark and Smallville),
and the Spectre property, and
includes all pre- and post-termination
works (including the so-called
Superman library), characters, names
and trademarks relating to the
Property.

The Siegel Family would transfer all
of its rights in the Superman and
Spectre properties (including
Superboy), resulting in 100%
ownership to D.C. Comics, as
between the Siegel Family and D.C.
Comics

DCs Evidence: Declaration of
Daniel M. Petrocelli, Ex. B at 19, 21;
Larson v. Warner Bros. Entmt, Inc.,
2012 WL 6822241 at *1-2 (9th Cir.
Jan 10, 2013).
Undisputed that Kevin Marks sent a
letter to John Schulman on October
19, 2001 containing the quoted
language.

Disputed to the extent Warner argues
that the October 19, 2001 letter
transferred Ms. Larsons copyright
interests in Superman or that Ms.
Larson is obligated today to transfer
such copyright.

#:15439

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PLAINTIFFS STATEMENT OF ADDITIONAL FACTS

Plaintiffs Additional Statement of Fact Plaintiffs Evidence
2 In 1997, Joanne Siegel and Laura Siegel Larson (the
Siegels) served notices of termination pursuant to
the Copyright Act as to Jerome Siegels Superman
copyright grants to DC Comics (DC).
Dkt. 646 (DCs
Second Amended
Counterclaims;
Counterclaims)
42-43
3 In 1999, the Siegels and DC entered into formal
negotiations, in which the Siegels were represented
by attorney Kevin Marks and DC by Warners then-
General Counsel, John Schulman
Counterclaims 51;
Dkt. 656 (Plaintiffs
Answer to DCs
Second Amended
Counterclaims
(Answer) at 51
4 On October 16, 2001, DC made a settlement offer to
the Siegels.
Declaration of Keith
Adams (AD) Ex. 1
at 4-9
5 On October 19, 2001, Mr. Marks sent a term sheet,
in letter form, to Mr. Schulman (the October 19,
2001 Letter)
AD Ex. 1 at 4-9
6 The October 19, 2001 Letter sets forth the terms of
the parties agreement and states in relevant part as
follows:

Dear John:

This is to confirm our telephone
conversation of October 19,2001. The Siegel
Family (through Joanne Siegel and Laura
Siegel Larson, the majority owners of the
terminated copyright interests) has accepted
D.C. Comics offer of October 16, 2001 in
AD Ex. 1 at 4-9
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respect of the Superman and Spectre
properties. The terms are as follows:

A. Definitions.

1. The Property means all Superman,
Sueprboy and related properties (including, for
example, Supergirl, Steel, Lois & Clark and
Smallville), and the Spectre property, and
includes all pre- and post-termination works
(including the so-called Superman library),
characters, names and trademarks relating to
the Property.

2. Superman/Spectre Gross Revenues means
DC Comics worldwide gross revenues derived
from the Property, excluding only revenues
derived from D.C. Comics publications.

B. Financial Terms.

1. A non-returnable, but recoupable advance
of $2,000,000.

2. A non-returnable, non-recoupable signing
bonus of 1,000,000.

3. D.C. Comics will forgive the $250,000
advance from last year stated otherwise, that
payment will not reduce the advance or bonus,
nor shall it be recoupable (contrary to
Paragraph 3 of the January 12, 2001 letter
agreement).

4. There will be an annual guarantee of
$500,000 per year payable for 10 years
beginning March 31, 2002. The annual
guarantee is recoupable from royalty payments
(under 5 and 6 below). The annual guarantee is
paid March 31
st
of each year. If at the end of
the annual guarantee period (i.e., 10 years),
D.C. is unrecouped, the annual guarantee will
be reduced to $100,000 or 25% of the average
royalties for the previous three years
(recomputed each year), whichever is greater
(for so long as D.C. is unrecouped). If D.C. is
recouped, then the annual guarantee will be
75% of the average royalties for the previous
three years, which is recomputed each year.

#:15441

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5. A royalty of 6% of Superman/Spectre Gross
Revenues. This applies Pwithout limitation) to
the use of the entire Property, including the so-
called superman library, in any and all media
now or hereafter known (Exclusing DC
Comics publications), in or on merchandise
and in promotional campaigns. This royalty
applies when the Property is used alone or is
licensed for motion picture and television
projects in accordance with the safe harbor
motion picture and television deals discussed
in Paragrah C(10). This 6% royalty will be
adjusted pro-rata when the Property is used in
conjunction with other book characters (other
than in a cameo type of appearance), but in
no event less than 3% except that the royalty
can be further reduced to (a) 1.5% in the case
of Justice League of America, Sueprfriends
and superheros merchandise and licensing,
and (b) 1% in extraordinary cases such as D.C.
Comics/Warner Bros. overall license to Six
Flags (which involves numerous characters,
including D.C. comics characters and Looney
Toones characters).

6. A royalty of 1% of the cover price of DC
Comics publications. This royalty applies
when the Property is used alone, and will be
adjusted pro-rate when the Property is used in
conjunction with other comic book characters
(other than in a cameo type of appearance),
but in no event less than 0.5%.
7. Recoupment begins as of January 1, 2000.

C. Other Terms.

1. The Siegel Family would transfer all of its
rights in the Superman and Spectre
properties (including Superboy), resulting in
100% ownership to D.C. Comics, as between
the Siegel Family and D.C. Comics.

2. If for any legal reason, there cannot be a
transfer of all rights at this time, everything in
this deal applies as a prepayment to any future
transfer, except $100,000 per year would not
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be applicable against the compensation (if any)
for a future transfer. This would not result in
additional monies upon perfecting the
Spectre termination. Rather, and by way of
example, in the unlikely situation that the law
changes, and this transfer is somehow
invalidated or limited by operation of law, and
there is a future court judgment against D.C.
Comics, this deal would apply against the
amount of such judgment, except to the extent
of $100,000 per year. For the sake of clarity,
this provision will not in any circumstance
reduce the monies due the Siegel family under
this deal.

3. Until the expiration of the U.S. copyright
for Action Comics No. 1, there will be a credit
on Superman comics and other publications,
movies and television programs that reads: By
Special Arrangement with the Jerry Siegel
Family. The size and placement of credit is to
be in D.C. Comics discretion.

4. D.C. shall accord credit along the lines of
Superman created by Jerry Siegel and Joe
Shuster, Created by Jerry Siegel and Joe
Shuster or Based on the characters created
by Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster or Superboy
created by Jerry Siegel or The Spectre
created by Jerry Siegel and Bernard Bailey (as
applicable) on motion pictures (main titles on
screen, paid ads), television programs (main
titles), all publications, and on all other works
where credit to creators is customary.

5. The accounting statements will be rendered
March 31
st
, and if royalty payments are due for
the previous calendar year, they will be paid at
the same time (along with the annual guarantee
for the then present year).

8. D.C. Comics to provide medical and dental
insurance for Michael and Laura, and Lauras
children for so long as they are minors. Laura
is also to be reimbursed for the costs of
medical and dental insurance for her and her
sons since November 2000.

#:15443

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9. DC Comics to provide the opportunity for
the Siegel Family to be informed about major
developments (e.g., motion pictures, television
programs, theme park attractions, major
changes planned in publications), and the
Siegel Family will have an opportunity to give
its input, but this does not rise to the level of a
consultation right. The Siegel Family will be
informed of such developments early enough
in the development process so that their
opportunity to give input is meaningful.

10. Siegel Family to have full audit rights.
Intra-company transactions will be covered by
safe harbors established at a level consistent
with the Salkind Superman theatrical motion
picture deal, the Lois & Clark television
program deal, the WB television Animation
deal, and the existing fee arrangements with
Warner Bros. Consumer Products. There will
be an expedited dispute resolution procedure
for challenging intra-company deals which fall
outside the safe harbors. D.C. would also
include in the safe harbors the Salking or
other deals as they may be reduced, but only (i)
where another character of comparable stature
to Superman (e.g., Batman) is used in a
comparable manner in connection with the
same project, (ii) on a prorata basis with the
adjustment in the other characters rights deal,
and (iii) in all events, the reduction shall be no
less than 50% of the original rights deal.

11. At the end of the U.S. Copyright term, the
Siegel Family agrees that it will not exploit the
Property, even though it is in the public
domain.

12. The Siegel Family would agree to execute
further documents, and D.C. Comics would be
appointed as attorney-in-fact to execute such
documents if the Siegel Family fails to do so
within a reasonable period of time.

13. Siegel Family would not make any
warranties as to the nature of rights, but would
represent that they have no transferred the
rights to any party. The Siegel Family would
agree that there will be no interference with the
Superman rights, or disparagement of D.C.
#:15444

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Comics. D.C. Comics and AOL Time Warner
agree not to disparage the Siegel Family.

14. Full E&O and general liability coverages,
and full indemnities for Joanne Siegel, Laura
Siegel Larson, and Michael Siegel against
liability for D.C. or affiliate actions.

It is also agreed that Joannes widows benefits
(including both payments and insurance), are
to continue for her life, and will not be treated
as an advance against this deal, and are not
recoupable from this deal.

7 The parties intended the terms of the October 19,
2001 Letter to be transposed into an agreement format
for signature by the parties.
AD Ex. 2 at 10; Ex.
10 at 115:21-116:1
8 On October 26, 2001, Mr. Schulman sent a letter to
Mr. Marks, in which he enclosed a supposedly more
fulsome outline of deal terms (the October 26, 2001
Letter). The letter stated in relevant part:

Dear Kevin:

I have received, and have finally had a chance to
review, your outline fax of October 19. I
apologize for not responding earlier; I have been
on the road.

I enclose herewith for you and Bruce a more
fulsome outline of what we believe the deal
weve agreed to is. Were working on the draft
agreement so that by the time you have
accomplished something of truly momentous
import, we will have this super-matter
transaction in document form.

Thank you.

Transfer
Regrant, grant, etc.
100% of rights, wherever created, arising out
AD Ex. 2 at 10-17
#:15445

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of Siegels authorship and/or contributions for
DC Comics (whether or not published),
including post term rights as members of public
100% of rights, whenever created, arising out
of Siegels authorship and/or contributions re
Superman, Superboy, Spectre, and related
properties even if not created for DC Comics
All properties, including but not limited to
Superman, Superboy, Spectre, and all rights of
any kind (i.e., copyrights, trademarks, indicia)
therein (the Properties)
In perpetuity and worldwide
Siegels will execute further documents as
may be necessary to evidence DCs ownership
of rights; designate WB as attorney in fact
Siegels warrant and represent no termination
nor any rights remaining except for rights under
this agreement and the written agreement to
include various provision to ensure same (jointly
and severally)
Siegels warrant and represent no contract of
any kind with any other party with respect to or
related to the Properties, including but not
limited to agreements to exploit or otherwise
encumber any of the Properties covered by the
agreement (jointly and severally)
Siegels agree not to exploit or enter into any
agreements or transactions with respect to, or
related to the Properties in any way (jointly and
severally)
Give copy of all documents relating to
rights/history
Siegels warrant and represent not to interfere
with or diminish DC/WB enjoyment of
exclusive ownership, control, and use (jointly
and severally)
Non-disparage AOLTW, its subsidiaries,
employees, and/or agents, predecessors, and
properties (mutual). Right to use J. Siegel bio
and photos in publicity, etc., re property.
The Siegel family and DC will issue a joint
press release announcing the agreement.
Thereafter, upon DCs request, the Siegel family
will continue to positively publicize the
Properties, including: making themselves
reasonably available for public appearances
(with any travel or related expenses paid by DC
and subject to their health and reasonable
availability); consulting with DC prior to any
personal appearances, written statements,
#:15446

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interviews, or other activities they may wish to
conduct relating to the Properties; and offering
to AOLTW companies a first opportunity to
negotiate for any biographical works in any
media.

Initial Payment
$2 million recoupable (advance)
$1 million non-recoupable
Waive right to recoup $250,000 per 2000
letter

Annual Payment (Advance)
$500,000 per year for ten years, commencing
2002, payable 3/31 of year, recoupable from
anything due under deal
Thereafter, if DC fully recouped, 75% of
average of last three years Siegel earnings; if DC
not fully recouped, greater of $100,000 or 25%
of average of last three years Siegel earnings
Terminate when Action #1 US copyright
terminates

Widows Benefits (not assignable or
transferrable)
$135,000/year
Payable for Joannes life, personal,
Paid as now
Medical, comparable to past, for life

Royalty
Commencing for revenue received on or
after 1/1/00
All advances (Initial and Annual) non-
interest bearing for year in which paid; then
interest at 100% of prime on unrecouped
amounts after 12/31 of year or payment
6% of DCs receipts from all Media licenses
for use of the Properties, except:
1) with respect to licenses which commingle the
Properties with another DC property similar in
stature and used in a like manner (e.g., a
Superman and Batman film or video), the 6%
shall be reducible to 3%
Properties with multiple other DC properties and
where the Properties are neither the predominant
creative element nor the sole predominant
identity or title of the Media product in question
(e.g., Justice League, Superfriends, Super
#:15447

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Heroes), the 6% shall be reduced to 1.5%.
6% of DCs receipts from all merchandising
licenses for use of the Properties (including but
not limited to product licensing, promotional
licensing, and licenses for the sale of
entertainment goods and services such as theme
parks or publications), except:
Properties with another DC property and the
properties are used and/or marketing in a like
manner (e.g., a Superman and Batman action
figure set), the 6%shall be reducible to 3%.
2) with respect to licensees which commingle
the Properties with multiple other DC properties
and where the Properties are neither the
predominant creative element nor the sole
predominant identity or title of the Media
product in question (e.g., Justice League,
Superfriends Super Heroes), the 6% shall be
reduced to 1.5%
3) with respect to licenses wherein the licensee
is granted rights to utilize a number of DC
properties as well as the Properties, DC shall
allocate the income from the license based on
the actual sales of individual products based on
information reasonably available from the
licensee, but to the extent such information is
not available, the 6% shall be reducible to not
less than 1%
4) with respect to merchandise actually
produced by DC Comics, an allocable portion of
the revenue, consistent with licensed
merchandise produced by third parties, shall be
deemed DC Comics revenue for purposes of
royalty computation.
1% of revenue derived from extraordinary
mixed licenses in instances such as DC
Comics/Warner Bros. overall license to Six
Flags (which involves numerous characters,
including DC Comics and Looney Toons
characters); to the extent revenues from such
licenses are not specifically attributed to
royalties earned by the sale of character
merchandise which can be directly allocated
either to the Properties or to other properties in
which the Siegels do not share, or are not
specific fees calculated on a per ride or per show
or other similar basis which can also be directly
allocated either to the Properties or to other
properties in which the Siegels do not share.
#:15448

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1% of the cover price of copies sold of DCs
own editions of publications based on the
Properties. A publication shall be considered
based on the Properties when one of the
characters that comprise the Properties shall be
the title of the publication (e.g., Superman) or
shall be the title of all the features within the
publication (e.g., Action Comics containing only
Superman stories)
1) with respect to publications which are based
on multiple properties as well as the Properties,
the 1% shall be reducible to 1/2%
2) there will be no reduction of the royalties
payable hereunder for the appearance of
characters from other properties in publications
or stories based on the Properties when those
other characters do not appear in the title of the
publication or feature in question
3) there will be no royalties payable hereunder
when the Properties appear in publication or
stories based on other properties and the
Properties characters do not appear in the title of
the publication or feature in question
[section moved to above] Ceases when US
copyright Action #1 ceases, except on motion
pictures released in last five years before end of
term, which shall earn royalty for five years
from release and TV series, which shall earn
royalty for three years from last initial TV
broadcast of consecutive years of original
episodes, even if goes beyond term of copyright
of Action #1.

Payment
All monies due the Siegels hereunder, except
widows benefit, shall be paid in following
manner:
47.5% Joanne Siegel
23.75% Laura Siegel Larson
23.75% Michael Siegel
5.00% Gang Tyre Ramer & Brown
Notwithstanding the foregoing, each of the first
three listed above may designate one or more
persons to receive monies due him or her to up
to three such persons. Such designations (who
sign) shall not be an assignee/beneficiary of
contract rights and shall carry no rights against
DC Comics.

Advise (Non-assignable or transferrable; subject
#:15449

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to confidentiality)

DC Comics to provide the opportunity for the
Siegel family to be informed about major
developments (e.g. motion pictures, television
programs, theme park attractions, major changes
planned in publications), and the Siegel family
will have an opportunity to give its input, but
this does not rise to the level of a consultation
right. The Siegel family will be informed of
such developments periodically. To facilitate
this, the family will appoint a single
representative who will receive occasional
written updates from DC and with whom, upon
request, a DC representative will meet once a
year to provide a broader overview of current
developments.

Credit (Non-assignable or transferrable)

Credit on work first created after date hereof
(excluding later episodes of ongoing TV series)
along the lines of Superman created by Jerry
Siegel and Joe Shuster, Created by Jerry Sigel
and Joe Shuster or Based on the characters
created by Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster (as
applicable) on motion pictures (main titles on
screen, only), television programs (main titles
only), and on all other works where credit to
creators is customary. (Credit must be consistent
with guild and other obligations.)
Credit on Superman movies and TV shows first
created after date hereof (excluding later
episodes of ongoing tv series) and initially
released during the term of the U.S. copyright of
Action #1: credit on audio/visual work itself
only By Special Arrangement with Jerry Siegel
Family (as applicable). Our choice of size and
placement. Same credit on all Superman
publications (comics and/or books) first created
after the date hereof and initially published
during term of U.S. copyright of Action #1.
(Credit must be consistent with guild and other
obligations.)

Accounting

Itemized royalty accounting on an annual basis,
with royalty payments (that is, amounts in
excess of recoupable Annual and Initial
#:15450

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Advances and interest, if applicable) to be paid
no later than March 31 following the close of the
annual accounting period. Year 2000 statement
and payment, if any, to be accounted with year
2001. Standard WB provisions.

Audit (Non-assignable or transferrable; by
majority vote; only one audit per any period)

Siegel family to have full audit rights. Standard
WB language and time frames. There will be an
expedited dispute resolution procedure for
challenging intercompany deals with fall outside
the safe harbors.

Safe Harbors for Intercompany Deals
Salkind (Motion Pictures)
Lois & Clark (TV)
WB Television Animation Deal
Merchandising representation practice

Expedited Dispute Resolution (Any claims
between the parties)
Arbitration
Compensation damages only to Siegels
No injunction against DC/WB breaches,
no termination of rights, no reversion
DC Comics/Warner Bros. can get equitable
relief against Siegels or third parties
exploitations or other breach

Medical Coverage/Son & Daughter (Grandsons
only through minority) (Non-assignable or
transferrable)

Medical and dental coverage, or reimbursement
for the cost of same at DC Comics then current
cost, for Laura Siegel Larson and Michael Siegel
for their lives (in the form of conventional
insurance programs consistent with those
offered to DC Comics employees, although it is
to be clear that neither Laura nor Michael is an
employee of DC Comics). Laura to be
reimbursed for premiums she has paid for
medical and dental coverage for her and her sons
since November 20, 2000. Lauras sons covered
for the period of their minority. Cooperate with
Joanne to get medical ID card.

Release and covenant not to sue by Siegels
#:15451

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Through date of signing of all claims past,
present, and/or future, actual and/or potential
(except breach of the agreement itself)
Approve all deals made before 12/31/00

Miscellaneous
Mutual intention is that Siegels have no
further rights vis a vis DC/WB or the Properties
or any right to get further compensation or any
other relief except the monies and other
obligations due hereunder. If, notwithstanding
this mutual intent, the Siegels or any one of
them attempt to assert claims, all but
$100,000/year creditable to any other obligation
WB has or may have to Siegels; if any claim by
Siegel or successor and resultant DC expense
and/or liability, compensation hereunder over
$100,000 annually is to be reduced equivalently;
[only total due hereunder is ever due]
Siegels defend and indemnify re third party
claims
Siegels defend and indemnify re Dennis
claim
Widow and daughter indemnify re Michael
Siegel for all expenses, costs, any reasonable
settlement or get Michael Siegel to sign
DC Comics to defend and indemnify Siegels
(who sign) against claims brought by third
parties for DC/WB acts
Siegels to refer all inquiries relating in any
way to Properties to DC/WB.
At end of term of copyright of Action #1,
Siegels may not exploit Property, even though
some of it will be p.d.

9 The October 26, 2001 Letter was sent when Mr.
Marks was in China for an extended period; he did
not return until late November 2001, and it was not
forwarded to the Siegels.
AD Ex. 10 at 104:9-
22; Ex. 9 at 97:22-
98:13
10 There were material differences between the October
19, 2001 Letter and the October 26, 2001 Letter, all to
DCs benefit and the Siegels detriment.
Compare AD Ex. 1 to
Ex. 2; Siegel v.
Warner Bros.
Entertainment, Inc.,
#:15452

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542 F. Supp. 2d 1908,
1137-39 (C.D. Cal.
2008)
11 The October 26, 2001 Letter contemplates a regrant
of the Siegels rights.
AD Ex. 2 at 11
12 Marks testified to the material differences between
the October 19, 2001 Letter and the October 26, 2001
Letter.
AD Ex. 10 at 107:4-
116:1
13 The October 26, 2001 Letter required the Siegels to
assign additional copyrights to DC. As Marks
testified:

I know that one area of difference [between the
terms of the October 19, 2001 Letter and the
terms of Schulmans October 26, 2001 Letter]
was the scope of the rights granted. In my letter
it referred to very specifically to the Superman
property and the Spectre property. Thats what
we had been talking about the whole time of our
negotiations going back to the first meeting in 2
1999. And, of course, as you see here, the
consideration, at least as set forth in my letter,
for that matter I guess in Johns letter, is based
on revenue from the Superman and Spectre
properties, yet Johns letter referred more
generally to all properties authored by Siegel for
DC Comics and was not limited to the
Superman and Spectre properties that we had
been talking about.

Compare AD Ex. 1
with Ex. 2; Ex. 10 at
107:16-108:4
14 The October 26, 2001 Letter reduced the Siegels
royalty in many instances. At Marks testified:

I recall in [Schulmans October 26, 2001 Letter]
new terms concerning how the royalty could be
reduced. My understanding of our agreement,
what I set forth in the October 19th letter, was
that on media and merchandising licenses the
royalty was 6 percent. If the other DC Comics
Compare AD Ex. 1 to
Ex. 2; Ex. 10 at
110:4-111:12
#:15453

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characters appeared in the media program or in
licensing or merchandising, that royalty could
be reduced to a floor of 3 percent.

[In the October 26th letter the] categories where
the 3 percent can be further reduced are
broadened.

15 The October 26 Letter changed when and where
credit would be given to the Siegel family. As Marks
testified:

In terms of the credit to be accorded Siegel and
Shuster, which was a point that I had as my
point C.4, a point that I thought had long been
agreed, that there would be a credit in paid ads
of motion pictures, which is certainly in my
experience is something thats very important to
clients. They want to see credit in the full-page
ads in newspapers and posters, movie theaters
and the like, and Johns [October 26, 2001]
letter provided for credit on screen only and not
in paid ads.

Compare AD Ex. 1 to
Ex. 2; Ex. 10 at
113:12-20
16 The October 26 Letter added numerous warranty and
indemnity provisions found nowhere in the October
19, 2001 Letter. As Marks testified:

Another area where [Schulmans October 26,
2001 Letter] differed involved warranties and
representations and, in turn, indemnities. If you
recall, we spoke earlier about the view that the
only warranty and representation the Siegel
family would make would be that they have not
transferred rights to any other party, and in
Johns letter there are broader warranties than
that, warranties that go beyond that.

Johns warranties go beyond that, and so too in
his letter he would have the Siegels
indemnifying for areas that were not agreed and,
Compare AD Ex. 1 to
Ex. 2; Ex. 10 at
108:4-19
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indeed, not event discussed. So theres broader
warranties and representations and, as a result,
broader indemnities. And in fact there are
additional indemnities added; for example,
indemnifying for any claims brought by Dennis
Larson.
17 The October 26, 2001 Letter confirmed the Annual
Payment (Advance) of $500,000 per year for ten
years, commencing 2002, payable 3/31 of year, i.e.,
beginning March 31, 2002.
AD Ex. 2 at 14
18 On February 1, 2002, DCs outside counsel sent Mr.
Marks a draft long-form agreement (the February 1,
2002 Draft).
AD Ex. 3
19 There were vast differences between the October 19,
2001 Letter and the February 1, 2002 Draft, all to
DCs benefit and the Siegels detriment.
Compare AD Ex.1 to
Ex. 3; Siegel, 542 F.
Supp. 2d at 1137-39
20 Marks testified to the vast differences between the
October 19, 2001 Letter and the February 1, 2002
Draft.
AD Ex. 10 at 125:13-
133:8
21 Among other changes, the February 1, 2002 Draft
altered the Siegels royalty, to DCs benefit. Marks
testified to such trap doors in which the Siegels
would receive no royalties at all:

[The February 1 2002 Draft] is purporting to say
or at least raise the problem that licensing
revenues would not include that body of 60
years of derivative works that the people that
DC Comics, Paul Levitz and others, made such
an impression upon us as being so different from
the original work and was the basis of the
Superman library, which was contrary to what
was agreed. The whole idea was to pick up all
works and not to exclude works created by other
people.

AD Ex. 10 at 128:3-
22
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I mentioned that at the DC Comics meeting
there was a specific discussion about an
American Express ad campaign where Jerry
Seinfield, who was in that campaign,
specifically requested that the Curt Shaw
version of Superman be used in the campaign.
Under this [February 1, 2002] draft the proceeds
of that campaign would be excluded, or at least
there was an argument that they would be
excluded, and that wasnt the intent. To parse
through that language and to get there is very
difficult, and I found I considered that
deceptive drafting and a trap door and highly,
highly problematic.

22 The February 1, 2001 Draft provides for a revocation
and regrant of the Siegels rights.
AD Ex. 3 at 31-32,
(1)(a)(i)-(ii)
23 The February 1, 2001 Draft also confirmed the
$500,000 annual advance, to be paid on March 31,
2002.
AD Ex. 3 at 39-40
24 DC did not pay or even tender the $500,000 annual
payment, the $1,000,000 signing bonus, or the
$2,000,000 advance, as DC had expressly promised
and as set forth in the October 19, 2001 agreement, by
March 31, 2002.
Counterclaims 99-
100
25 On May 9, 2002, Joanne Siegel sent a letter to
Richard D. Parsons, COO of AOL Time Warner Inc.,
objecting to the February 1, 2002 Draft. Ms. Siegels
May 9, 2002 letter read in relevant part:

Dear Dick,

I am Joanne Siegel, widow of Superman's
creator Jerry Siegel. In 1997, as Jerry's heirs, our
daughter Laura and I had the unique opportunity
to regain Jerry's share of the Superman
copyright.

AD Ex. 4 at 75-77
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With the assistance of three attorneys, two of
them copyright specialists, Laura and I
successfully terminated Jerry's seven grants and
our Washington, DC copyright expert sent out
the Notices of Termination then filed our
copyright for Superman in a timely manner.

Every step in the termination process, the filing,
the timing, were carefully researched, checked
and rechecked with knowledgeable attorneys on
both coasts before going ahead. We then hired
two additional Beverly Hills entertainment
attorneys as our negotiators. Negotiations
dragged on for four difficult years. We made
painful concessions assured if we did we would
arrive at an agreement. When we made those
difficult concessions and reluctantly accepted
John Schulman's last proposal six months ago,
we were stabbed in the back with a shocking
contract.

Your company's unconscionable contract dated
February 4, 2002 contained new, outrageous
demands that were not in the proposal. The
document is a heartless attempt to rewrite the
history of Superman's creation and to strip Laura
and me of the dignity and respect that we
deserve. It attempts to discredit my late
husband, Jerry Siegel, whose creations the
company and its predecessors have greedily
cashed in on for more than sixty four years.

[W]e are owed more than three years of profits
accounting on Superman and related properties
which has not been paid.

As for the contract, your representatives surely
know that we wou1d never do the unethical
things demanded by them. For your
representatives to condition our receiving
financial compensation for our rights on
demands which were not in the proposal we
accepted, is deceitful.

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After more than half a century of D C Comics
and its predecessors enjoying huge profits from
my late husband's creations, while we lived in
poverty for many of those years, the company is
not satisfied. The beast hungers for more.

It is to the everlasting shame of everyone in
leadership roles at the company that they
allowed that disgraceful contract to be sent to
us. There was no concern for the suffering it
would cause Jerry Siegel's widow and his ailing,
impoverished daughter.

This contract shows AOL Time Warner and D C
Comics to be a greedy corporation without
morals, ready to allow its representatives to
commit an inhumane act. Are your
representatives afraid if we are treated fairly
other comics creators or their heirs will also
want to be treated fairly in the future?

After four years we have no deal and this
contract makes an agreement impossible. Have
you been aware that your representatives have
gone too far? If not, you do now. They have
shown you and your company in the wont
possible light. Is that the reputation you want?

26 On May 21, 2002, Mr. Parsons sent a reply letter to
Joanne. Mr. Parsons letter stated:

Dear Joanne:

Thank you for your letter of May 9th. Your
husband and his creations and his family have
been a cherished part of the Warner, Time
Warner and now AOL Time Warner family for
many years. I was, therefore, quite troubled by
your feeling. Consequently, I have been in
contact with John Schulman and Paul Levitz and
have been informed that each of the major
points covered in the draft agreement which was
provided to your representatives, more than
AD Ex. 5 at 78
#:15458

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three months ago, accurately represented the
agreement previously reached between your
representatives and AOLTW's. Those
negotiating the agreement for AOLTW even
improved - to your benefit- the terms of our
$250,000 recoupable advance; they proposed as
a part of the overall deal that the advance be
non-applicable and non-recoupable. So, I am a
bit at a loss to understand the level and intensity
of your distress.

As in all negotiations, including the lengthy
ones which have brought us this far, we
expected that you and your representatives
would have comments and questions on the
draft, which comments and questions we would
need to resolve. John and Paul look forward to
meeting with your representatives, and we
continue to hope that this agreement can be
closed based upon the earlier discussions with
your lawyers.

In the interim, I want you to know that AOLTW
is determined to do the right thing for the heirs
of Jerry Siegel, you and your family, and that
we continue to count SUPERMAN among
America's cultural treasures with which we are
proud to be associated.

27 Mr. Parsons May 21, 2002 letter did not retract the
aggressive demands in the February 1, 2002 Draft, or
go back to the terms in the October 19, 2001 Letter
the Siegels had confirmed was the agreement.
AD Ex. 5 at 78
28 Mr. Parsons May 21, 2002 letter did not argue the
Siegels were in breach, demand the Siegels
performance, or assert DCs rights under the October
19, 2001 Letter.
AD Ex. 5 at 78
29 On September 21, 2002, the Siegels sent a letter to
their attorneys and copied DC, in which they
terminated Mr. Marks and provided formal
AD Ex. 6 at 79
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notification that we are totally stopping and ending all
negotiations with DC Comics effective
immediately.
30 On November 8, 2002, the Siegels served a 304(c)
notice of termination regarding Superboy, with an
effective date of November 17, 2004
AD Ex. 7
31 In 2003-04, DC simply resumed settlement
negotiations with the Siegels.
AD Ex. 8; Ex. 11 at
139:12-146:2; Ex. 23
at 376
32 At no time between October 19, 2001 and October 8,
2004, or thereafter, did DC: pay the $500,000 annual
advances, the $1,000,000 signing bonus, or the
$2,000,000 advance; provide an accounting of
royalties; provide the By Special Arrangement with
the Jerry Siegel Family; or provide the Siegels
medical and dental insurance.
Counterclaims 99-
100; Siegel, 542 F.
Supp. 2d at 1114-
1116; AD Ex. 5
33 At no time between October 19, 2001 and October 8,
2004 did DC file suit against the Siegels, claim rights
under the October 19, 2001 Letter, retract or disclaim
the October 26, 2001 Letter or February 1, 2002 draft,
or claim that the October 19, 2001 Letter was an
enforceable agreement.
Counterclaims 99-
100; Siegel, 542 F.
Supp. 2d at 1114-
1116; AD Ex. 5
34 On October 8, 2004, the Siegels filed suit against DC
regarding their Superman termination (Siegel).
Case No. 04-CV-
08400, Dkt. 1
35 On October 22, 2004, the Siegels filed suit against
DC regarding their Superboy termination.
Case No. 04-CV-
08776, Dkt. 1
36 On November 22, 2004, DC filed counterclaims in Case No. 04-CV-
#:15460

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the Siegel Superman and Superboy Cases. 08400, Dkt. 14
37 DCs counterclaims alleged for the first time that the
October 19, 2001 Letter was an enforceable
agreement.
Counterclaims 97-
105
38 DCs counterclaims alleged for the first time that the
Siegels had repudiated that agreement by their May 9,
2002 and September 21, 2002 letters.
Counterclaims 99-
100
39 DCs Third Counterclaim was for breach of contract
re: the October 19, 2001 Letter.
Counterclaims 97-
101
40 DCs Fourth Counterclaim was for declaratory relief
re: the October 19, 2001 Letter.
Counterclaims 101-
105
41 DCs Fourth Counterclaim asked the court to declare
that the October 19, 2001 Letter either (1) transferred
Ms. Larsons copyrights to DC or (2) contractually
obligated Ms. Larson to transfer her copyrights in the
future.
Counterclaims 103
42 The Siegels answer to DCs Counterclaims
specifically pled the affirmative defenses of waiver
and acquiescence as well as No Settlement
Agreement Was Consummated.
Answer 152, 185
43 In Siegel, DC argued that it negotiated for the Siegels
to receive credit on Superman Returns and set up a
reserve account.
AD Ex. 13 at 167-68,
178
44 In Siegel, DC testified and represented to the court
how much money was in a supposed reserve
account.
AD Ex. 12 at 159:6-
11; Ex. 13 at 168 n.18
45 In Siegel, the district court took note of the dubious AD Ex. 14
#:15461

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nature of DCs supposed reserve account.
46 In Siegel, DC admitted that the October 19, 2001
Letter provided that copyrights would be
transferred in the future, not that they had already
been transferred.
AD Ex. 13 at 167-68,
177-78
47 In Siegel in 2008, Judge Larson concluded on
summary judgment that the parties had failed to reach
an agreement, citing the materially different terms
of the October 26, 2001 Letter and the vastly
different terms of the February 1, 2002 Draft.
Siegel, 542 F. Supp.
2d at 1138
48 In Siegel, on May 20, 2010, this Court entered a Rule
54(b) judgment based on Judge Larsons summary
judgment order.
Dkt. 669
49 Both sides appealed the Rule 54(b) judgment in
Siegel (9th Cir. Appeal Nos. 11-55863, 11-56034; the
Siegel Appeal).
Dkt. 671, 674
50 In the Siegel Appeal, DC expressly asked the Ninth
Circuit to enter judgment in its favor at least five
times in its briefs.
AD Ex. 16 at 230,
252; Ex. 18 at 316,
318, 325
51 In the Siegel Appeal, the Ninth Circuit was well
aware of DCs request for judgment, and questioned
DC about it during oral argument.
AD Ex. 19 at 344:17-
344:2.
52 In the Siegel Appeal, DC argued and admitted that the
terms in the October 19, 2001 Letter were the only
ones that the parties ever agreed to.
AD Ex. 16 at 239-40;
AD, Ex. 18 at 316
53 In the Siegel Appeal, DC argued and admitted that
new or changed terms in the October 26, 2001 Letter
AD Ex. 19 at 346:23-
347:4
#:15462

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were not part of the deal.
54 In the Siegel Appeal, DC disavowed the February 1,
2002 Draft.
AD Ex. 16 at 239-40
55 In the Siegel Appeal, DC told the Ninth Circuit that
whether the subsequent events undid the October
19, 2001 was a fact question.
AD Ex. 19 at 345:18-
21
56 In the Siegel Appeal, Ms. Larson argued that (a) the
October 19, 2001 Letter was not a valid contract,
because it was not a writing signed by both parties;
and (b) the October 19, 2001 Letter did not comply
with the Copyright Acts writing requirement in 17
U.S.C. 204(a).
AD Ex. 17
57 In the Siegel Appeal, DC contended that the
Superman Ads were important and that they, in fact,
clearly do depict Supermans S-shield, super-strength,
costume, and facial features and grant a copyright
interest in such elements.
AD Ex. 16 at 248
58 In the Siegel Appeal, on January 10, 2013, the Ninth
Circuit reversed Judge Larsons opinion, holding that
that the October 19, 2001 Letter constituted a valid
acceptance of an offer by DC that was sufficient to
create a contract.
Larson v. Warner
Bros. Entmt, Inc.,
2013 U.S. App.
LEXIS 671 (9th Cir.
January 10, 2013)
59 In the Siegel Appeal, the Ninth Circuit did not disturb
Judge Larsons findings as to the materially and
vastly different terms in the October 26, 2001
Letter and the February 1, 2002 Draft, and remanded
the case for further adjudication of DCs contract
Larson, 2013 U.S.
App. LEXIS 671;
Siegel, 542 F. Supp.
2d at 1138
#:15463

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claims its Third and Fourth Counterclaims.
60 On January 29, 2013, DC, for the first time in twelve
years, offered to tender payment to Ms. Larson
under the October 19, 2001 Letter, subject to
purported rights of offset, rendering its offer
illusory.
AD Ex. 20
61 Despite requests by Ms. Larson, DC would also not
provide the basis for its calculation of payment,
leaving it completely uncertain whether DCs tender
complied with the complicated royalty scheme of the
October 19, 2001 Letter.
AD Ex. 24; Ex. 25
62 DCs 2013 tender of Superman royalties owed was
not much higher than what DC had testified was
owed seven years earlier, in 2006.
AD Ex. 12 at 159:6-
11; Ex. 13 at 168
n.18; Ex. 25
63 On March 6, 2012, Ms. Larson signed a 304(d)
notice of termination regarding Superman Ads,
with an effective date of March 12, 2014.
AD Ex. 15

CONCLUSIONS OF LAW
As set forth in Plaintiffs Opposition to DCs motion:
1. DCs motion is denied. The Ninth Circuit did not hold that the October
19, 2001 letter from the Siegels attorney to DC actively transferred the Siegels
copyrights to DC, as DC solely argues. The Circuit only held that the letter was an
acceptance of terms negotiated between the parties that was sufficient to create a
contract. Larson v. Warner Bros. Entmt, Inc., 2013 U.S. App. LEXIS 671, at *3 (9th
Cir. January 10, 2013). DCs Third and Fourth Counterclaims remain for
adjudication.
#:15464

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Dated: March 4, 2013 RESPECTFULLY SUBMITTED,
/s/ Marc Toberoff

Attorneys for Plaintiff Laura Siegel Larson

#:15465

DECLARATION OF KEITH ADAMS RE: DCS MOTION FOR SUMMARY JUDGMENT

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[email protected]
[email protected]
[email protected]
[email protected]
22337 Pacific Coast Highway, #348
Malibu, California, 90265
Telephone: (310) 246-3333
Fax: (310) 246-3101



JOANNE SIEGEL,
Plaintiff,
v.
Defendants and
Counterclaimants.


DECLARATION OF KEITH ADAMS
RE: DC COMICS MOTION FOR
SUMMARY JUDGMENT IN THE
SIEGEL SUPERMAN AND
SUPERBOY CASES

Opposition and Statement of Genuine
Issues filed concurrently

Time: 1:30 p.m.*

the motion(s) under submission and hold
a hearing if necessary. Dkt. 707. Docket
08400.

JOANNE SIEGEL,
Plaintiff,
v.
and DOES 1-10,
Defendants and
Counterclaimants.
#:15466

i
INDEX TO DECLARATION OF KEITH ADAMS
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INDEX
Ex. Title Page
1 October 19, 2001 letter from Kevin Marks to John Schulman 4
2 October 26, 2001 letter from Schulman to Marks 10
3 February 1, 2002 letter from Patrick Perkins to Marks 18
4 May 9, 2002 letter from Joanne Siegel to Richard D. Parsons 75
5 May 22, 2002 letter from Parsons to Joanne Siegel 78
6 September 21, 2002 letter from the Siegels to Marks 79
7 November 8, 2002 Notice of Termination re: Superboy 80
8 Letter sent by Ari Emanuel to Bruce Rosenblum 93
9 Excerpts from August 1, 2006 deposition of Laura Siegel Larson 94
10 Excerpts from October 7, 2006 deposition of Kevin Marks 101
11 Excerpts from November 2, 2006 deposition of Ari Emanuel 135
12 Excerpts from November 11, 2006 deposition of Paul Levitz 149
13 Excerpts from Defendants Opposition to Plaintiffs Motion for
Summary Judgment, filed May 29, 2007
163
14 October 23, 2007 Order 183
15 March 5, 2012 Notice of Termination re: Superman Advertisements 188
16 DCs Second Brief on Cross-Appeal in the Siegel Appeal, filed on
March 23, 2012
194
17 Larsons Third Brief on Cross-Appeal in the Siegel Appeal, filed on
May 24, 2012.
253
18 DCs Fourth Brief on Cross-Appeal in the Siegel Appeal, filed on
June 19, 2012
309
19 September 5, 2012 Oral Argument in the Siegel Appeal 326
20 January 29, 2013 Letter from Daniel Petrocelli to Marc Toberoff 368
21 February 9, 2013 Letter from Toberoff to Petrocelli 370
22 February 12, 2013 Letter from Petrocelli to Toberoff 373
23 Excerpts from DCs Statement of Genuine Issue re: Motion for
Summary Judgment in DC Comics, filed on February 16, 2013.
375
24 February 27, 2013 Letter from Toberoff to Petrocelli 379
25 February 28, 2013 Letter from Petrocelli to Toberoff 380
#:15467

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DECLARATION OF KEITH G. ADAMS
I, Keith G. Adams, declare as follows:
1. I am an attorney at the law firm of Toberoff & Associates, P.C., counsel
of record for plaintiff-counterclaim defendant Laura Siegel Larson, individually and
as personal representative of the Estate of Joanne Siegel (Plaintiff), in the above-
captioned actions, and submit this declaration in opposition to Defendant DC
Comics Motion for Summary Judgment.
2. Attached hereto as Exhibit 1 is a true and correct copy of an October
19, 2001 letter from Kevin Marks to John Schulman.
3. Attached hereto as Exhibit 2 is a true and correct copy of an October
26, 2001 letter from John Schulman to Kevin Marks.
4. Attached hereto as Exhibit 3 is a true and correct copy of a February
1, 2002 letter from Patrick Perkins to Kevin Marks.
5. Attached hereto as Exhibit 4 is a true and correct copy of a May 9,
2002 letter from Joanne Siegel to Richard Parsons.
6. Attached hereto as Exhibit 5 is a true and correct copy of a May 22,
2002 letter from Richard Parsons to Joanne Siegel.
7. Attached hereto as Exhibit 6 is a true and correct copy of a September
21, 2002 letter from Joanne and Laura Siegel to Kevin Marks.
8. Attached hereto as Exhibit 7 is a true and correct copy of a November
8, 2002 Notice of Termination for Superboy.
9. Attached hereto as Exhibit 8 is a true and correct copy of a letter from
Ari Emanuel to Bruce Rosenblum.
10. Attached hereto as Exhibit 9 is a true and correct copy of excerpts
from the August 1, 2006 deposition of Laura Siegel Larson.
from the October 7, 2006 deposition of Kevin Marks.
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from the November 2, 2006 deposition of Ari Emanuel.
from the electronic transcript of the November 11, 2006 deposition of Paul Levitz.
from Defendants Opposition to Plaintiffs Motion for Summary Judgment, filed on
May 29, 2007.
15. Attached hereto as Exhibit 14 is a true and correct copy of an order
issued on October 23, 2007.
16. Attached hereto as Exhibit 15 is a true and correct copy of a March 5,
2012 Notice of Termination for Superman Advertisements.
from DCs Second Brief on Cross-Appeal in the Siegel Appeal (9th Cir. Case No. 11-
55863), filed on March 23, 2012.
from Ms. Larsons Third Brief on Cross-Appeal in the Siegel Appeal, filed on May
24, 2012.
from DCs Fourth Brief on Cross-Appeal in the Siegel Appeal, filed on June 19,
2012.
20. Attached hereto as Exhibit 19 is a true and correct copy of the
transcript of the September 5, 2012 oral argument in the Siegel Appeal.
21. Attached hereto as Exhibit 20 is a true and correct copy of a January
29, 2013 letter from Daniel Petrocelli to Marc Toberoff.
9, 2013 letter from Marc Toberoff to Daniel Petrocelli.
24. Attached hereto as Exhibit 23 is a true and correct copy of Excerpts
#:15469

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from DCs Statement of Genuine Issue re: Motion for Summary Judgment filed in
DC Comics (C.D. Cal. Case No. 10-CV-03633) on February 16, 2013.
27, 2013 letter from Marc Toberoff to Daniel Petrocelli.

I declare under penalty of perjury under the laws of the United States that the
foregoing is true and correct. Executed on March 4, 2013, at Malibu, California.

Keith G. Adams

#:15470
EXHIBIT 1
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EXHIBIT 3
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EXHIBIT 3
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EXHIBIT 3
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EXHIBIT 3
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EXHIBIT 8
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EXHIBIT 9
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EXHIBIT 9
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EXHIBIT 9
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EXHIBIT 9
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#:15615

1 UNI TED STATES DI STRI CT COURT

2 CENTRAL DI STRI CT OF CALI FORNI A

3 - - - - -

4 J OANNE SI EGEL, an i ndi vi dual ; )
and LAURA SI EGEL LARSON, an )
5 i ndi vi dual , )
Pl ai nt i f f s, )
6 vs. ) Ci vi l Case No.
) 04- 8840 ( RXz)
7 WARNER BROS. ENTERTAI NMENT I NC. , ) &
a cor por at i on; TI ME WARNER I NC. , ) 04- 8776 ( RXz)
8 a cor por at i on; DC COMI CS, a )
gener al par t ner shi p; and DOES )
9 1- 10, )
Def endant s. )
10 DC COMI CS, )
Count er cl ai mant , )
11 vs. )
)
andLAURA SI EGEL LARSON, an )
13 i ndi vi dual , )
Count er cl ai m )
14 Def endant s. )

15

16 DEPOSI TI ON OF PAUL LEVI TZ

17 Los Angel es, Cal i f or ni a

18 Tuesday, November 7, 2006

19 Vol ume I I : Pages 223 t o 464

20

21 ATKI NSON- BAKER, I NC.
COURT REPORTERS
22 ( 800) 288- 3376
www. depo. com
23

24 REPORTED BY: Shar on Campbel l , CSR NO. 8643, RPR

25 FI LE NO. : A009B58

EXHIBIT 12
149
#:15616

1 UNI TED STATES DI STRI CT COURT

2 CENTRAL DI STRI CT OF CALI FORNI A

3 - - - - -

and LAURA SI EGEL LARSON, an )
5 i ndi vi dual , )
Pl ai nt i f f s, )
6 vs. ) Ci vi l Case No.
) 04- 8840 ( RXz)
7 WARNER BROS. ENTERTAI NMENT I NC. , ) &
a cor por at i on; TI ME WARNER I NC. , ) 04- 8776 ( RXz)
8 a cor por at i on; DC COMI CS, a )
gener al par t ner shi p; and DOES )
9 1- 10, )
Def endant s. )
10 DC COMI CS, )
Count er cl ai mant , )
11 vs. )
)
andLAURA SI EGEL LARSON, an )
13 i ndi vi dual , )
Count er cl ai m )
14 Def endant s. )

15 DEPOSI TI ON OF PAUL LEVI TZ, a Wi t ness
her ei n, t aken on behal f of t he Pl ai nt i f f s at
16 2049 Cent ur y Par k East , Sui t e 2720,
Los Angel es, Cal i f or ni a, commenci ng at
17 9: 52 A. M. , Tuesday, November 7, 2006, bef or e
Shar on Campbel l , CSR No. 8643, RPR.
18

19

20

21

22

23

24

25

EXHIBIT 12
150
#:15617

1 A P P E A R A N C E S

2

3 For t he Pl ai nt i f f s and Count er cl ai mDef endant s
J oanne Si egel and Laur a Si egel Lar son:
4
LAWOFFI CES OF MARC TOBEROFF, PLC
5 BY: MARC TOBEROFF
2049 Cent ur y Par k East
6 Sui t e 2720
Los Angel es, Cal i f or ni a 90067
7 ( 310) 246- 3333

8
For t he Def endant s:
9
WEI SSMANN, WOLFF, BERGMAN, COLE,
10 GRODI N & EVALL LLP
BY: MI CHAEL BERGMAN
11 9665 Wi l shi r e Boul evar d
Ni nt h Fl oor
12 Bever l y Hi l l s, Cal i f or ni a 90212
( 310) 858- 7888
13

14 ALSO PRESENT: Zazi Pope
Wayne Smi t h
15 War ner Br os. Ent er t ai nment , I nc.

16

17

18

19

20

21

22

23

24

25

EXHIBIT 12
151
#:15618

1 LOS ANGELES, CALI FORNI A; NOVEMBER 7, 2006

2 TUESDAY, 9: 52 A. M.

3

4 MR. TOBEROFF: I ' d l i ke t o mar k, as Exhi bi t 18, t he

5 document ent i t l ed " ' Super man' Opt i on Pur chase

6 Agr eement . " I t ' s dat ed as of November 7, 1999, Bat es

7 st amp WB 4199 t o 4231.

8 ( Pl ai nt i f f s' Exhi bi t No. 18 was

9 mar ked f or i dent i f i cat i on by t he

10 r epor t er and i s i ncl uded her ewi t h. )

11

12 PAUL LEVI TZ,

13 havi ng been f i r st dul y swor n, was

14 exami ned and t est i f i ed as f ol l ows:

15

16 EXAMI NATI ON

17 BY MR. TOBEROFF:

18 Q Have you ever seen t hi s document bef or e t oday?

19 A I t hi nk so. I t hi nk t hi s i s - - I don' t know i f

20 t hi s i s t he f i nal f or mor - - yes. Thi s i s t he execut ed

21 one, yes.

22 Q " Yes" ?

23 A Yes. I have seen t hi s.

24 Q Di d you t ake par t i n t he negot i at i on of t hi s

25 agr eement ?

EXHIBIT 12
152
#:15619

1 MR. BERGMAN: That ' s a whol l y i nappr opr i at e

2 quest i on t o ask t he wi t ness at a deposi t i on. I t ' s a

3 pr oper subj ect of an i nt er r ogat or y.

4 I do i nst r uct t he wi t ness not t o answer .

5 MR. TOBEROFF: I see.

6 Can you mar k t hat quest i on, pl ease.

7 Q I f you can t ur n t o page 27, par agr aph 99.

8 A ( Wi t ness compl i es. )

9 Q I f you go - - t he second sent ence st ar t s:

10 " Speci f i cal l y, and wi t hout l i mi t i ng

11 t he f or egoi ng, DC Comi cs est abl i shed a

12 r eser ve account of t he moni es due t o

13 Pl ai nt i f f ' s/ Count er cl ai mDef endant s based upon

14 t he Fi nanci al Ter ms. "

15 And t he f i nanci al t er ms ar e f i nanci al t er ms of

16 a pur por t ed agr eement wi t h t he Si egel s r egar di ng t hei r

17 t er mi nat i on i nt er est s.

18 Do you see t hat sent ence?

19 A I do.

20 Q Okay.

21 To your knowl edge, di d DC est abl i sh such a

22 r eser ve account ?

23 A We di d.

24 Q Okay. What bank i s t hat - - does t hat

25 r eser ve - - when di d you est abl i sh t hat r eser ve account ?

EXHIBIT 12
153
#:15620

1 A Appr oxi mat el y when we r eached t he agr eement .

2 Q When?

3 A I don' t r emember t he dat es.

4 Q I s i t i n 2000? 2001? 2002?

5 A I don' t r emember t he dat es. I ' msor r y.

6 Q Who opened t hat account ?

7 MR. BERGMAN: Obj ect i on.

8 Assumes a f act not i n evi dence, l acks

9 f oundat i on.

10 THE WI TNESS: A r eser ve account i s not necessar i l y

11 a physi cal bank account .

12 Q BY MR. TOBEROFF: Okay.

13 A I t ' s - - i t ' s est abl i shi ng t he f i nanci al - -

14 f i nanci al r eser ve, set t i ng asi de an i dent i f i ed amount

15 as due and owi ng f or a par t i cul ar pur pose.

16 Q So you' r e speaki ng of a bookkeepi ng f unct i on,

17 keepi ng t r ack of ?

18 MR. BERGMAN: Obj ect t o t he char act er i zat i on as t o

19 what t he wi t ness i s r ef er r i ng t o.

20 THE WI TNESS: I t ' s - - i t ' s a bookkeepi ng f unct i on.

21 I t ' s a f i nanci al f unct i on.

22 Q BY MR. TOBEROFF: Okay.

23 But you - - ar e you sayi ng you di d not act ual l y

24 est abl i sh a bank account i n whi ch moni es wer e

25 deposi t ed; i s t hat cor r ect ?

EXHIBIT 12
154
#:15621

1 A To t he best of my knowl edge, t her e' s not a

2 separ at e bank account .

3 Q Okay.

4 Ot her t han - - ar e you sayi ng you kept t r ack of

5 what moni es woul d be owed t hem; i s t hat cor r ect ?


7 Mi schar act er i zes t he wi t ness' s t est i mony.

8 MR. TOBEROFF: I ' mnot at t empt i ng t o char act er i ze.

9 I ' maski ng i f i t ' s cor r ect or not .

10 MR. BERGMAN: But when you say, i n ot her wor ds,

11 Mr . Tober of f , you ar e char act er i zi ng.

12 MR. TOBEROFF: No, I ' mnot . I ' mt r yi ng t o

13 under st and hi m.

14 THE WI TNESS: I t was accr ued as an amount on t he

15 books of t he company.

16 Q BY MR. TOBEROFF: But ot her t han keepi ng t r ack

17 of i t on t he books of t he company, was t her e anyt hi ng

18 el se you di d wi t h r espect t o t hi s r eser ve account ?


20 Mi schar act er i zes t he wi t ness' s t est i mony.

21 THE WI TNESS: I t woul d, I bel i eve, i mpact our - -

22 our t axes, any ot her f i nanci al l y dr i ven syst em.

23 Q BY MR. TOBEROFF: I ' mnot r eal l y aski ng what i t

24 i mpact ed. I ' mt r yi ng t o - - l et me br eak t hi s down.

25 I ' mt r yi ng t o get a si mpl e under st andi ng of what you

EXHIBIT 12
155
#:15622

1 act ual l y di d, and so f ar you' ve t ol d me somet hi ng t o

2 t he ef f ect of - - and I ' mnot t r yi ng t o mi schar act er i ze

3 your t est i mony.

4 J ust t r yi ng t o get at t he hear t of what DC di d.

5 I t says we est abl i shed a r eser ve account . And I asked

6 what does t hat mean, and so f ar what I ' mhear i ng i s

7 t hat somet hi ng t o t he ef f ect of keepi ng t r ack of what

8 moni es woul d be owed t he Si egel s under t hat pur por t ed

9 agr eement i n your bookkeepi ng.

10 I s t hat basi cal l y cor r ect ?

11 MR. BERGMAN: Obj ect t o t he pr eambl e t o t hat , and

12 obj ect as mi sst at i ng t he t est i mony of t he wi t ness.

13 THE WI TNESS: We est abl i shed i t as a l i abi l i t y of

14 t he company.

15 Q BY MR. TOBEROFF: What does t hat mean - -

16 est abl i shed?

17 What di d you do - - physi cal l y do?

18 A I physi cal l y di d not hi ng. I di d not keep t he

19 books of t he company.

20 Q Okay.

21 What di d DC physi cal l y do?

22 A I f your quest i on i s t he physi cal act s i nvol ved,

23 you woul d be bet t er aski ng t hat of one of our f i nanci al

24 peopl e. I don' t - -

25 Q Thank you. But I ' maski ng you your knowl edge

EXHIBIT 12
156
#:15623

1 what di d DC do.

2 A I have t ol d you what DC di d. We est abl i shed an

3 accr ual as a f i nanci al l i abi l i t y of t he company f or t he

4 amount s as woul d be due under t hat agr eement .

5 Q Coul d you put t hat i n pl ai n Br ookl yn Engl i sh - -

6 what you di d.

7 Does t hat mean you kept t r ack of t he amount s

8 t hat woul d be due t he Si egel s under t he agr eement i n

9 your bookkeepi ng?

10 I s t hat what t hat means?

11 MR. BERGMAN: Asked and answer ed. Mi sst at es

12 t est i mony of t he wi t ness.

13 THE WI TNESS: We accr ued t hose amount s as a

14 f i nanci al l i abi l i t y of t he company.

15 Q BY MR. TOBEROFF: What does t hat mean - -

16 accr ued?

17 A Accr ual i s a f or mof account i ng wher e you t ake

18 acknowl edgment of a l i abi l i t y as i t i s i ncur r ed r at her

19 t han cash account i ng when you t ake not e of a l i abi l i t y

20 when i t i s act ual l y pai d.

21 Q So - -

22 A I ' mnot an account ant , ei t her . But t hat ' s what

23 I r emember f r omcost account i ng 101.

24 Q Okay.

25 So amI cor r ect t hat what you essent i al l y di d

EXHIBIT 12
157
#:15624

1 by est abl i shi ng r eser ve account s i s you kept t r ack of

2 t he moni es t hat woul d be owed t he Si egel s under t hat

3 agr eement i f t hat agr eement was ef f ect i ve?


5 Mi schar act er i zed t he t est i mony of t he wi t ness.

6 Q BY MR. TOBEROFF: I s t hat cor r ect ?

7 " Yes" or " no" ?

8 MR. BERGMAN: Agai n - -

9 THE WI TNESS: I don' t bel i eve t hat i s t he f ul l

10 i mpor t of est abl i shi ng accr ual .

11 Q BY MR. TOBEROFF: I ' mnot aski ng f or t he

12 i mpor t .

13 I ' maski ng i s t hi s a f ai r char act er i zat i on of

14 what you di d?

15 A No. I don' t t hi nk t hat ' s a f ai r

16 char act er i zat i on of what an accr ual - -

17 Q Okay.

18 So you di d not keep t r ack of t he moni es t hat

19 woul d be owed t he Si egel s under t hi s pur por t ed

20 agr eement ?

21 A We kept t r ack and we accr ued t hose amount s as a

22 l i abi l i t y on t he books of t he company.

23 Q Okay.

24 Anyt hi ng el se you di d wi t h r egar d t o t hi s

25 r eser ve account i n addi t i on t o keepi ng t r ack?

EXHIBIT 12
158
#:15625


2 Mi schar act er i zes t he t est i mony of t he wi t ness.

3 Q BY MR. TOBEROFF: Anyt hi ng el se you di d?

4 A I woul d not be awar e i f t her e was anyt hi ng el se

5 physi cal l y done.

6 Q How much money i s i n t hi s, quot e, r eser ve

7 account , end quot e?

8 A I ' mnot sur e what t he cur r ent bal ance i s.

9 Q Any i dea?

10 A I woul d est i mat e t hat i t ' s t o t he or der of

11 $20 mi l l i on at t hi s poi nt .

12 Q And when was t he l ast t i me you checked t hat

13 bal ance?

14 A I pr obabl y r ecei ved some i nf or mat i on on t he

15 bal ance sever al mont hs ago.

16 Q I s t hi s accr ual done el ect r oni cal l y?


18 Vague and ambi guous.

19 THE WI TNESS: I don' t know how t he physi cal

20 pr ocesses ar e done. I mean, i t woul d i nvol ve somet hi ng

21 i n comput er t echnol ogy somewher e al ong t he way.

22 MR. TOBEROFF: Okay.

23 Agai n, t hi s i s one of t he ar eas wher e I f i nd i t

24 appal l i ng t hat you have not pr oduced t hese number s t o

25 us al t hough t hey wer e r equest ed under mul t i pl e

EXHIBIT 12
159
#:15626

1 publ i cat i ons t hat I ' ve ment i oned.

2 Q Ot her t han t hat , ar e t her e any ot her s?

3 A I ' ve answer ed t hi s t hr ee t i mes. I don' t t hi nk

4 so.

5 MR. TOBEROFF: Okay. I have no f ur t her quest i ons.

6 THE WI TNESS: Yay.

7 MR. BERGMAN: I have none.

8 Pr opose t he nor mal st i pul at i on t hat t he cour t

9 r epor t er wi l l be r el i eved of her st at ut or y obl i gat i ons;

10 t hat she wi l l send a copy of Mr . Levi t z' s t r anscr i pt t o

11 me; t hat wi t hi n 30 days of my r ecei pt , we wi l l make any

12 necessar y cor r ect i ons and si gn i t under penal t y of

13 per j ur y; and t hat I wi l l not i f y Mr . Tober of f of any

14 changes t hat ar e made.

15 I s t hat agr eeabl e?

16 MR. TOBEROFF: Agr eed. Thank you.

17

18 ( The Deposi t i on concl uded at 4: 17 P. M. )

19

20 * * *

21

22

23

24

25

EXHIBIT 12
160
#:15627

1 STATE OF CALI FORNI A )
) ss
2 COUNTY OF LOS ANGELES )

3

4

5 I , t he under si gned, decl ar e under

6 penal t y of per j ur y t hat I have r ead t he

7 f or egoi ng t r anscr i pt , and I have made any

8 cor r ect i ons, addi t i ons, or del et i ons t hat I

9 was desi r ous of maki ng; t hat t he f or egoi ng

10 i s a t r ue and cor r ect t r anscr i pt of my

11 t est i mony cont ai ned t her ei n.

12

13 EXECUTED t hi s day of ,

14 at , .
( Ci t y) ( St at e)
15

16

17 PAUL LEVI TZ

18

19

20

21

22

23

24

25

EXHIBIT 12
161
#:15628

1 STATE OF CALI FORNI A )
) ss
2 COUNTY OF LOS ANGELES )

3

4

5 I , SHARON CAMPBELL, C. S. R. No. 8643, RPR,

6 Cer t i f i ed Shor t hand Repor t er , cer t i f y:

7 That t he f or egoi ng pr oceedi ngs wer e t aken

8 bef or e me at t he t i me and pl ace t her ei n set f or t h, at

9 whi ch t i me t he wi t ness was put under oat h by me;

10 That t he t est i mony of t he wi t ness and al l

11 obj ect i ons made at t he t i me of t he exami nat i on wer e

12 r ecor ded st enogr aphi cal l y by me and wer e t her eaf t er

13 t r anscr i bed;

14 That t he f or egoi ng i s a t r ue and cor r ect

15 t r anscr i pt of my shor t hand not es so t aken.

16 I f ur t her cer t i f y t hat I amnot a r el at i ve

17 or empl oyee of any at t or ney or of any of t he par t i es,

18 nor f i nanci al l y i nt er est ed i n t he act i on.

19 I decl ar e under t he penal t y of per j ur y under

20 t he l aws of t he St at e of Cal i f or ni a t hat t he

21 f or egoi ng i s t r ue and cor r ect .

22 Dat ed t hi s 15t h day of November 2006.

23

24 _________________________________
Shar on Campbel l , CSR No. 8643, RPR
25

EXHIBIT 12
162
#:15629
EXHIBIT 13
163
#:15630
EXHIBIT 13
164
#:15631
EXHIBIT 13
165
#:15632
EXHIBIT 13
166
#:15633
EXHIBIT 13
167
#:15634
EXHIBIT 13
168
#:15635
EXHIBIT 13
169
#:15636
EXHIBIT 13
170
#:15637
EXHIBIT 13
171
#:15638
EXHIBIT 13
172
#:15639
EXHIBIT 13
173
#:15640
EXHIBIT 13
174
#:15641
EXHIBIT 13
175
#:15642
EXHIBIT 13
176
#:15643
EXHIBIT 13
177
#:15644
EXHIBIT 13
178
#:15645
EXHIBIT 13
179
#:15646
EXHIBIT 13
180
#:15647
EXHIBIT 13
181
#:15648
EXHIBIT 13
182
#:15649
EXHIBIT 14
183
#:15650
EXHIBIT 14
184
#:15651
EXHIBIT 14
185
#:15652
EXHIBIT 14
186
#:15653
EXHIBIT 14
187
#:15654
NOTICE OF TERMINATION OF TRANSFER
COVERING EXTENDED RENEWAL TERM

To: Time Warner Inc.
One Time Warner Center
New York, NY 10019-8016
Attn: Jeffrey L. Bewkes
Chairman & C.E.O.

Time Warner
Entertainment Company, L.P.
c/o Time Warner Cable
60 Columbus Circle, 16th Floor
New York, NY 10023

Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc.
4000 Warner Boulevard
Burbank, CA 91522
Attn: Barry M. Meyer
Chairman & C.E.O.

Warner Bros. Inc.
Burbank, CA 91522
Attn: Barry M. Meyer
Chairman & C.E.O

Warner Communications Inc.
c/o Time Warner Inc.
One Time Warner Center
New York, NY 10019
Attn: Jeffrey L. Bewkes
Chairman and C.E.O.

Warner Bros. Television
Burbank, CA 91522
Attn: Peter Roth, President

Warner Bros. Pictures Group
Burbank, CA 91522
Attn: Jeff Rabinov, President

Warner Bros. Consumer Products
Burbank, CA 91522
Attn: Brad Globe, President

Time/Warner Retail Sales &
Marketing
260 Cherry Hill Road,
Parsippany NJ 07054
Attn: Rich Jacobsen, President

DC Entertainment
Burbank, CA 91522
Attn: Diane Nelson, President

DC Comics
1700 Broadway, 7th Floor
New York, NY 10019
Attn: Diane Nelson, President

DC Direct
c/o DC Comics
1700 Broadway, 7th Floor
New York, NY 10019

EXHIBIT 15
188
#:15655

2
PLEASE TAKE NOTICE that pursuant to Section 304(d) of the United States
Copyright Act (17 U.S.C. 304(d)) and the regulations issued thereunder by the
Register of Copyrights, 37 C.F.R. section 201.10, the undersigned, Laura Siegel
Larson, being the person entitled to terminate transfers pursuant to said statutory
provisions, hereby terminates the grant of the transfer of renewal copyright(s) (to the
extent of author Jerome Siegels ownership share of the renewal copyright(s)) in and to
the copyrighted SUPERMAN work(s) made in those certain agreements all as
identified below, and the undersigned sets forth in connection therewith the following:
1

1. The names and addresses of the grantees and/or successors in title
whose rights are being terminated are as follows: Time Warner Inc., One Time Warner
Center, New York, NY 10019-8016; Time Warner Entertainment Company, L.P., c/o
Time Warner Cable, 60 Columbus Circle, 16th Floor, New York, NY 10023; Warner
Bros. Entertainment Inc., 4000 Warner Boulevard, Burbank, CA 91522; Warner Bros.
Inc., 4000 Warner Boulevard, Burbank, CA 91522; Warner Communications Inc., c/o
Time Warner Inc., One Time Warner Center, New York, NY 10019; Warner Bros.
Television, 4000 Warner Boulevard, Burbank, CA 91522; Warner Bros. Pictures Group,
400 Warner Boulevard, Burbank, CA 91522; Warner Bros. Consumer Products, 4000
Warner Boulevard, Burbank, CA 91522; Time/Warner Retail Sales & Marketing, 260
Cherry Hill Road, Parsippany, N.J. 07054; DC Entertainment, 4000 Warner Boulevard,
Burbank, CA 91522; DC Comics, 1700 Broadway, 7th Floor, New York, NY 10019; DC

1
This Notice of Termination of Transfer is independent of and does not supersede, alter, or amend the
notices of termination (Document Nos. V3410 D577, V3410 D607, V3410 D630, V3410 D653, V3410
D807, V3410 D830, V3410 D853) served April 3, 1997, by Joanne Siegel and Laura Siegel Larson, that
were recorded at the U.S. Copyright Office on February 2, 1998, or the notice of termination (Document
No. V3491 D823) served November 8, 2002 by Joanne Siegel and Laura Siegel Larson, that was
recorded at the U.S. Copyright Office on November 20, 2002.
EXHIBIT 15
189
#:15656

3
Direct, c/o DC Comics, 1700 Broadway, 7th Floor, New York, NY 10019. Pursuant to
37 C.F.R. Section 201.10(d), service of this notice is being made by first class mail,
postage pre-paid to the above grantees or successors at the addresses shown.
2. The works (individually, Work; collectively, the Works) to which this
Notice of Termination applies are as follows: the illustrated front cover of the
SUPERMAN comic book story in Action Comics, Vol. 1, No. 1, June 1938 issue, as
depicted in a reduced black and white form in the advertisements for Action Comics,
Vol. 1, No. 1, appearing in the following magazines:
2

Title Name of Author Date Copyright Secured Copyright Reg. No.

More Fun
Comics #31

Jerome Siegel
Joseph Shuster
April 5, 1938 B258595
More Fun
Comics #32
Jerome Siegel
Joseph Shuster

May 1, 1938 B262725
New Adventure
Comics #26

Jerome Siegel
Joseph Shuster
April 8, 1938 Unknown
New Adventure
Comics #27

Jerome Siegel
Joseph Shuster
May 1938 Unknown
Detective
Comics #15

Jerome Siegel
Joseph Shuster
April 10, 1938 B379783

2
This Notice of Termination applies as well to each and every element of each such Work, and to each
and every work which includes any illustration, image, prose, character, plotline, setting, story element,
and/or any other elements of or reasonably associated with the Work, including any advertisement or
promotional material, and which was registered with the United States Copyright Office and/or published
within the applicable Termination time window (as such window is defined by 17 U.S.C. 304(d) and the
effective date of this Notice), and which was not listed in or terminated by the notices of termination dated
April 3, 1997 regarding Superman previously served pursuant to 17 U.S.C. 304(c) by Joanne Siegel
and Laura Siegel Larson or the notice of termination dated November 8, 2002 regarding Superboy
previously served pursuant to 17 U.S.C. 304(c) by Joanne Siegel and Laura Siegel Larson. Every
reasonable effort has been made to find and list herein every such work. Nevertheless, if any such work
has been omitted, including any related materials published prior to the date the work first secured
statutory copyright, such omission is unintentional and involuntary, and this Notice of Termination also
applies to each and every such omitted work.

EXHIBIT 15
190
#:15657

4
Detective
Comics #16
Jerome Siegel
Joseph Shuster
May 10, 1938 B379784

3. This Notice of Termination applies to the following grants, assignments,
and transfers and/or agreements to the extent, if any, each grant transfers or assigns
the renewal copyright (or any interest in or to the renewal copyright) to any Work
identified hereinabove:
(a) A one page agreement between Detective Comics, Inc., on the one hand,
and Jerome Siegel and Joe Shuster, co-authors of the comic book/strip Superman, on
the other, executed on or about March 1, 1938;
(b) A two page agreement of purported employment between Detective
Comics, Inc., on the one hand, and Jerome Siegel and Joseph Shuster, on the other,
executed on or about December 4, 1937;
(c) A three page letter agreement between Detective Comics, Inc., on the one
hand, and Jerome Siegel and Joseph Shuster, on the other, executed on or about
September 22, 1938;
(d) A three-page letter agreement between Detective Comics, Inc. and The
McClure Newspaper Syndicate, on the one hand, and Jerome Siegel and Joseph
Shuster, on the other, executed on or about September 22, 1938;
(e) A two-page letter agreement between Detective Comics, Inc., on the one
hand, and Jerome Siegel and Joseph Shuster, on the other, executed on or about
December 19, 1939;
(f) A seven-page agreement or stipulation between National Comics
Publications, Inc., Independent News Co., Inc., The McClure Newspaper Syndicate,
Harry Donenfeld, Jacob S. Liebowitz, Paul H. Sampliner and Wayne Boring, on the one
EXHIBIT 15
191
#:15658

5
hand, and Jerome Siegel and Joseph Shuster, on the other, executed on or about May
19, 1948, and an eleven-page consent judgment entered pursuant to this stipulation by
the Hon. J. Addison Young, in the Supreme Court of the State of New York, County of
Westchester, on or about May 21, 1948, although this is not a grant that need be listed
in a notice of termination (see Siegel v. Warner Bros Entertainment Inc., 542 F. Supp.
2d 1098 (C.D. Cal. 2008)); and
(g) A twelve-page letter agreement (with additional pages for exhibits)
between Warner Communications Inc., on the one hand, and Jerome Siegel and
Joseph Shuster, on the other, executed on or about December 23, 1975.
4. The effective date of termination shall be March 12, 2014.
5. No prior termination of the grants of rights in the copyright of the
aforementioned Works for their renewal copyright term has been exercised by the
Author, Jerome Siegel, or his statutory heirs or representatives pursuant to Section
304(c) of the United States Copyright Act (17 U.S.C. 304(c)).
6. Jerome Siegel died on January 28, 1996. There is no living widow of
Jerome Siegel, and Laura Siegel Larson is the only living child of Jerome Siegel.
Michael Siegel, Jerome Siegels other child, is deceased and had no children. As such,
the undersigned, Laura Siegel Larson, is the sole person entitled to exercise Jerome
Siegels termination interest pursuant to 17 U.S.C. 304(d), incorporating without
limitation 17 U.S.C. 304(c)(2)(D), as to the grants of the transfers of rights in the
aforementioned Works described herein. To the best knowledge and belief of the
undersigned, this notice has been signed by all persons whose signature is necessary
EXHIBIT 15
192
#:15659
EXHIBIT 15
193
#:15660

Appeal Nos. 11-55863, 11-56034

IN THE UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS
FOR THE NINTH CIRCUIT

Plaintiff, Counterclaim-Defendant, Appellant, and Cross-Appellee,
v.
WARNER BROS. ENTERTAINMENT INC. AND DC COMICS,
Defendants, Counterclaimants, Appellees, and Cross-Appellants.

ON APPEAL FROM THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
FOR THE CENTRAL DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA
THE HONORABLE OTIS D. WRIGHT II, JUDGE
CASE NO. CV-04-8400 ODW (RZX)

PRINCIPAL AND RESPONSE BRIEF OF CROSS-APPELLANTS AND
APPELLEES WARNER BROS. ENTERTAINMENT INC. AND DC COMICS

JONATHAN D. HACKER
OMELVENY & MYERS LLP
1625 Eye Street, N.W.
Washington, D.C. 20006
Telephone: (202) 383-5300

PATRICK T. PERKINS
PERKINS LAW OFFICE, P.C.
1711 Route 9D
Cold Spring, New York 10516
Telephone: (845) 265-2820
DANIEL M. PETROCELLI
MATTHEW T. KLINE
CASSANDRA L. SETO
1999 Avenue of the Stars, 7th Floor
Los Angeles, California 90067
Telephone: (310) 553-6700
Facsimile: (310) 246-6779

Attorneys for Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc. and DC Comics
Case: 11-55863 03/23/2012 ID: 8115931 DktEntry: 31-1 Page: 1 of 117 (1 of 125)
EXHIBIT 16
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CORPORATE DISCLOSURE STATEMENT
Pursuant to Federal Rule of Appellate Procedure 26.1, cross-appellants and
appellees Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc. and DC Comics, by and through their
counsel of record, hereby disclose:
1. Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc. is a corporation that is an indirect,
wholly-owned subsidiary of Time Warner Inc.
2. DC Comics is a New York general partnership comprised of Warner
Communications Inc. and E.C. Publications, Inc., which are wholly-owned
subsidiaries of Time Warner Inc., a Delaware corporation. Time Warner Inc. is a
publicly-held corporation that indirectly owns more than 10% of DC Comics.
Dated: March 23, 2012

By: /s/ Daniel M. Petrocelli
Daniel M. Petrocelli
Attorneys for Warner Bros.
Entertainment Inc. and DC Comics
EXHIBIT 16
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i
TABLE OF CONTENTS

STATEMENT OF JURISDICTION......................................................................... 1
INTRODUCTION .................................................................................................... 1
STATEMENT OF ISSUES PRESENTED ............................................................... 5
STATEMENT OF THE CASE ................................................................................. 6
STATEMENT OF FACTS ....................................................................................... 9
A. Statutory Background ................................................................ 9
B. Factual Background ................................................................. 10
1. Siegel And Shusters Work-For-Hire
Arrangements With DC During The 1930s And
1940s .............................................................................. 10
2. Litigation Over Superman During The 1940s,
1960s, And 1970s .......................................................... 14
3. Larsons Termination Notices Under The 1976 Act
And The Parties 2001 Settlement Agreement .............. 15
4. Larson Allies With A New Business Partner Who
Induces Her To Repudiate The 2001 Settlement
Agreement ...................................................................... 18
C. Proceedings Below ................................................................... 19
STANDARD OF REVIEW .................................................................................... 22
SUMMARY OF ARGUMENT .............................................................................. 23
ARGUMENT .......................................................................................................... 25
DCs Cross-Appeal On Its Second Through Fourth Counterclaims
I. THE DISTRICT COURT ERRED IN GRANTING
SUMMARY JUDGMENT TO LARSON ON THE
THRESHOLD SETTLEMENT AGREEMENT ISSUE ................... 25
EXHIBIT 16
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ii
A. Under California Law, A Contract Is Enforceable So
Long As Parties Agree On Its Essential Terms, Even
Absent Formalized Documentation ......................................... 25
B. The October 19, 2001, Writing Constitutes An
Enforceable Agreement As A Matter Of Law ......................... 28
C. At A Minimum, DC Is Entitled To Factfinding As To
Whether The Parties Intended To Be Bound By The
Essential Terms Identified In The October 19, 2001,
Letter ........................................................................................ 34
II. THE DISTRICT COURT ERRED IN GRANTING
SUMMARY JUDGMENT TO LARSON ON DCS
LIMITATIONS COUNTERCLAIM ................................................. 37
Larsons Appeal Of Her First Claim And
DCs Cross-Appeal On Both Parties First Claims
I. LARSONS ENTIRE APPEAL IS PREMATURE BECAUSE
HER CLAIM HAS NOT BEEN FULLY AND FINALLY
ADJUDICATED ................................................................................ 40
II. THE SUPERMAN ELEMENTS AT ISSUE WERE MADE-
FOR-HIRE ON BEHALF OF DC AND ARE THUS EXEMPT
FROM TERMINATION .................................................................... 41
A. A Work Is Made-For-Hire Under The 1909 Copyright
Act When It Is Created At The Instance And Expense
Of The Commissioning Party .................................................. 42
B. The District Court Correctly Held That Action Comics
#2-3, #5-61, Superman #1 (Pages 1-2)-23, And The Post-
McClure Strips Were Works-For-Hire .................................... 45
1. Action Comics #2-3, #5-6 .............................................. 48
2. Action Comics #7-61 And Superman #1-23 .................. 51
3. Post-McClure Newspaper Strips ................................... 55
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iii
C. The District Court Erred In Granting Summary Judgment
Against DC On The Work-For-Hire Status Of Action
Comics #1 And #4, Superman #1 (Pages 3-6), And Pre-
McClure Strips ......................................................................... 61
1. Action Comics #1 ........................................................... 61
a. Key Elements Of Action Comics #1 Were Made-
For-Hire .............................................................. 61
b. National Is Not Preclusive As To The Work-For-
Hire Status Of Action Comics #1 ....................... 68
2. Pre-McClure Strips ....................................................... 71
a. The Pre-McClure Strips Were Made At DCs
Instance And Expense ........................................ 71
b. Larsons Failure To List The Pre-McClure Strips
In Her Termination Notice Also Precludes
Termination ........................................................ 72
3. Pages 3-6 Of Superman #1 ............................................ 77
4. Artwork In Action Comics #4 ........................................ 79
5. Promotional Announcements ........................................ 80
CONCLUSION ....................................................................................................... 87
CERTIFICATE OF COMPLIANCE
STATEMENT OF RELATED CASES
ADDENDUM

EXHIBIT 16
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iv

CASES
Almond v. ABB Indus. Sys., Inc.,
2001 WL 242548 (S.D. Ohio Mar. 6, 2001) ........................................................ 78
Ariz. State Carpenters Pension Trust Fund v. Miller,
938 F.2d 1038 (9th Cir. 1991) ............................................................................. 40
Atla-Medine v. Crompton Corp.,
2001 WL 1382592 (S.D.N.Y. Nov. 7, 2001) ....................................................... 36
Banner Entmt, Inc. v. Super. Ct.,
62 Cal.App.4th 348 (1998) ........................................................................... 29, 35
Beck v. Am. Health Grp. Intl, Inc.,
211 Cal.App.3d 1555 (1989) ................................................................................ 29
Boisson v. Banian, Ltd.,
273 F.3d 262 (2d Cir. 2001) ................................................................................. 62
Burroughs v. M-G-M, Inc.,
683 F.2d 610 (2d Cir. 1982) .................................................................... 74, 75, 76
Bustamante v. Intuit, Inc.,
141 Cal.App.4th 199 (2006) ......................................................................... 29, 35
Callie v. Near,
829 F.2d 888 (9th Cir. 1987)................................................................................ 35
CCNV v. Reid,
490 U.S. 730 (1989) ............................................................................................. 43
Chaffin v. U.S.,
176 F.3d 1208 (9th Cir. 1999) ............................................................................. 44
Clackamas Gastroenterology Assocs., P.C. v. Wells,
538 U.S. 440 (2003) ............................................................................................. 43
Clarke v. Fiedler,
44 Cal.App.2d 838 (1941) ............................................................................. 26, 27
EXHIBIT 16
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#:15666

v
Commr v. Sunnen,
333 U.S. 591 (1948) ............................................................................................. 68
Cool Fuel, Inc. v. Connett,
685 F.2d 309 (9th Cir. 1982)................................................................................ 82
Cuellar de Osorio v. Mayorkas,
656 F.3d 954 (9th Cir. 2011)................................................................................ 22
Dolman v. Agee,
157 F.3d 708 (9th Cir. 1998)................................................................... 42, 43, 44
Easter Seal Socy v. Playboy Enters.,
815 F.2d 323 (5th Cir. 1987)................................................................................ 42
Eden Toys, Inc. v. Florelee Undergarment Co.,
697 F.2d 27 (2d Cir. 1982) ............................................................................ 63, 64
Elite Show Servs., Inc. v. Staffpro, Inc.,
119 Cal.App.4th 263 (2004) ................................................................................ 26
Entmt Research Grp., Inc. v. Genesis Creative Grp., Inc.,
122 F.3d 1211 (9th Cir. 1997) ............................................................................. 63
EPIC, Inc. v. Pac. Lumber Co.,
257 F.3d 1071 (9th Cir. 2001) ............................................................................. 71
Ersa Grae Corp. v. Fluor Corp.,
1 Cal.App.4th 613 (1991) .................................................................................... 26
Estate of Hogarth v. Edgar Rice Burroughs, Inc.,
2002 WL 398696 (S.D.N.Y. Mar. 15, 2002) ....................................................... 53
342 F.3d 149 (2d Cir. 2003) .................................................................... 42, 47, 59
Estate of Thottam,
165 Cal.App.4th 1331 (2008) .............................................................................. 26
Feist Publns, Inc. v. Rural Tel. Serv. Co.,
499 U.S. 340 (1991) ...................................................................................... 63, 80
EXHIBIT 16
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vi
Firemans Fund Ins. Co. v. Intl Mkt. Place,
773 F.2d 1068 (9th Cir. 1985) ............................................................................. 71
Gaiman v. McFarlane,
360 F.3d 644 (7th Cir. 2004)................................................................................ 80
Gausvik v. Perez,
392 F.3d 1006 (9th Cir. 2004) ................................................................ 22, 51, 81
Granite Rock Co. v. Teamsters,
649 F.3d 1067 (9th Cir. 2011) ...................................................................... 68, 70
Harper & Row, Publishers v. Nation Enters.,
471 U.S. 539 (1985) ............................................................................................. 51
Harris v. Rudin, Richman & Appel,
74 Cal.App.4th 299 (1999) ..................................................................... 26, 27, 29
In re Smith,
964 F.2d 636 (7th Cir. 1992)................................................................................ 58
Inamed Corp. v. Kuzmak,
275 F.Supp.2d 1100 (C.D. Cal. 2002) ................................................................. 34
Jachetta v. U.S.,
653 F.3d 898 (9th Cir. 2011)................................................................................ 51
Jada Toys, Inc. v. Mattel, Inc.,
518 F.3d 628 (9th Cir. 2008)................................................................................ 62
Jim Henson Prods. v. John T. Brady & Assocs.,
16 F.Supp.2d 259 (S.D.N.Y. 1997) ...................................................................... 60
Lamle v. Mattel, Inc.,
394 F.3d 1355 (Fed. Cir. 2005) ............................................................................ 29
Levin v. Knight,
780 F.2d 786 (9th Cir. 1986)................................................................................ 29
Lin-Brook Builders Hardware v. Gertler,
352 F.2d 298 (9th Cir. 1965)................................................................... 42, 43, 59
EXHIBIT 16
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vii
Lozano v. Ashcroft,
258 F.3d 1160 (10th Cir. 2001) ........................................................................... 83
Martha Graham Sch. & Dance Found., Inc. v. Martha Graham Sch.
of Contemporary Dance, Inc.,
380 F.3d 624 (2d Cir. 2004) ................................................................................. 55
Marvel Characters, Inc. v. Simon,
310 F.3d 280 (2d Cir. 2002) .......................................................................... 45, 70
Marvel Worldwide, Inc. v. Kirby,
777 F.Supp.2d 720 (S.D.N.Y. 2011) ................................................. 44, 49, 53, 78
Mattel, Inc. v. MGA Entmt, Inc.,
2011 WL 3420603 (C.D. Cal. Aug. 4, 2011) ....................................................... 35
616 F.3d 904 (9th Cir. 2010)................................................................... 24, 35, 39
May v. Morganelli-Heumann & Assocs.,
618 F.2d 1363 (9th Cir. 1980) ................................................................ 42, 43, 45
Medina v. Ramsey Steel Co.,
238 F.3d 674 (5th Cir. 2001)................................................................................ 36
Meyer v. Holley,
537 U.S. 280 (2003) ............................................................................................. 44
Murray v. Gelderman,
566 F.2d 1307 (5th Cir. 1978) ...................................................................... 43, 49
Music Sales Corp. v. Morris,
73 F.Supp.2d 364 (S.D.N.Y. 1999) ...................................................................... 75
Narayan v. EGL, Inc.,
616 F.3d 895 (9th Cir. 2010)................................................................................ 23
Natl Comics Publns, Inc. v. Fawcett Publns, Inc.,
191 F.2d 594 (2d Cir. 1951) .......................................................................... 58, 69
New Hampshire v. Maine,
532 U.S. 742 (2001) ............................................................................................. 39
EXHIBIT 16
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viii
Nike, Inc. v. Just Did It Enters.,
6 F.3d 1225 (7th Cir. 1993).................................................................................. 36
Novelty Textile Mills, Inc. v. Joan Fabrics Corp.,
558 F.2d 1090 (2d Cir. 1977) ............................................................................... 62
Pantone, Inc. v. A. I. Friedman, Inc.,
294 F.Supp. 545 (S.D.N.Y. 1968) ........................................................................ 62
Partmar Corp. v. Paramount Pictures Theatres Corp.,
347 U.S. 89 (1954) ............................................................................................... 51
Patel v. Liebermensch,
45 Cal.4th 344 (2008) .......................................................................................... 27
Picture Music, Inc. v. Bourne, Inc.,
457 F.2d 1213 (2d Cir. 1972) ....................................................................... passim
Playboy Enters., Inc. v. Dumas,
53 F.3d 549 (2d Cir. 1995) ...................................................................... 43, 49, 53
Recycling Solutions Tech., LLC v. Rosenberg,
2011 WL 1696826 (E.D. Ky. May 4, 2011) ........................................................ 36
Rennick v. O.P.T.I.O.N. Care, Inc.,
77 F.3d 309 (9th Cir. 1996).................................................................................. 29
S. Cal. Painters v. Best Interiors, Inc.,
359 F.3d 1127 (9th Cir. 2004) ............................................................................. 35
Samuels v. Holland Am. Line-USA Inc.,
656 F.3d 948 (9th Cir. 2011)................................................................................ 22
Sargent v. Am. Greetings Corp.,
588 F.Supp. 912 (N.D. Ohio 1984) ...................................................................... 62
Scherr v. Universal Match Corp.,
297 F.Supp. 107 (S.D.N.Y. 1967) ........................................................................ 44
Scherr v. Universal Match Corp.,
417 F.2d 497 (2d Cir. 1969) ................................................................................. 79
EXHIBIT 16
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ix
SEC v. Platforms Wireless Intl Corp.,
617 F.3d 1072 (9th Cir. 2010) ............................................................................. 40
Seiler v. Lucasfilm, Ltd.,
808 F.2d 1316 (9th Cir. 1986) ............................................................................. 82
Self-Realization Fellowship Church v. Ananda Church of Self-
Realization,
206 F.3d 1322 (9th Cir. 2000) ................................................................ 42, 43, 44
Shapiro, Bernstein & Co. v. Jerry Vogel Music Co.,
161 F.2d 406 (2d Cir. 1946) ................................................................................. 80
Shaw v. Hahn,
56 F.3d 1128 (9th Cir. 1995)................................................................................ 70
Siegel v. Natl Periodical Publns,
364 F.Supp. 1032 (S.D.N.Y. 1973) ......................................................... 15, 68, 69
508 F.2d 909 (2d Cir. 1974) .................................................................... 11, 15, 68
St. Paul Water Co. v. Ware,
83 U.S. 566 (1872) ............................................................................................... 44
Tex Print Indus., Inc. v. Zayre Corp.,
1977 WL 22752 (D. Mass. Feb. 10, 1977) .......................................................... 83
The Facebook, Inc. v. Pac. Nw. Software, Inc.,
640 F.3d 1034 (9th Cir. 2011) ..................................................................... passim
Thomas v. Ponder,
611 F.3d 1144 (9th Cir. 2010) ............................................................................. 23
Toledano v. OConnor,
501 F.Supp.2d 127 (D.D.C. 2007) ....................................................................... 29
Twentieth Century Fox Film Corp. v. Entmt Distrib., 429 F.3d 869
(9th Cir. 2005) .............................................................................................. passim
U.S. v. Alexander,
326 F.2d 736 (4th Cir. 1964)................................................................................ 83
EXHIBIT 16
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x
U.S. v. Diaz-Lopez,
625 F.3d 1198 (9th Cir. 2010) ............................................................................. 82
U.S. v. Resnick,
594 F.3d 562 (7th Cir. 2010)................................................................................ 78
Vass v. Compaq Computer Corp.,
953 F.Supp. 114 (D. Md. 1997) ........................................................................... 36
Wallace v. City of San Diego,
479 F.3d 616 (9th Cir. 2007)................................................................................ 23
Warren v. Fox Family Worldwide, Inc.,
328 F.3d 1136 (9th Cir. 2003) ............................................................................. 49
Webster Indus., Inc. v. Northwood Doors, Inc.,
320 F.Supp.2d 821 (N.D. Iowa 2004) .................................................................. 36
Weddington Prods., Inc. v. Flick,
60 Cal.App.4th 793 (1998) .................................................................................. 31
STATUTES
17 U.S.C. 4 (1909) (repealed 1976) ......................................................................... 9
17 U.S.C. 7 (1909) (repealed 1976) ....................................................................... 47
17 U.S.C. 24 (1909) (repealed 1976) ............................................................. passim
17 U.S.C. 26 (1909) (repealed 1976) ................................................................ 9, 41
17 U.S.C. 203 .................................................................................................. 10, 41
17 U.S.C. 203 ......................................................................................................... 74
17 U.S.C. 304 ................................................................................................. passim
17 U.S.C. 507 ......................................................................................................... 37
17 U.S.C. 702 ......................................................................................................... 73
28 U.S.C. 1291 ......................................................................................................... 1
28 U.S.C. 1331 ......................................................................................................... 1
EXHIBIT 16
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xi
28 U.S.C. 1338 ......................................................................................................... 1
28 U.S.C. 1367 ......................................................................................................... 1
CAL. CIV. CODE 1550 ............................................................................................. 25
RULES
FED. R. CIV. P. 54(b) ........................................................................................ passim
FED. R. CIV. P. 56(a) ................................................................................................. 22
FED. R. EVID. 1002 ................................................................................................... 82
FED. R. EVID. 801(d)(2)(A) ...................................................................................... 78
REGULATION
37 C.F.R. 201.10 ............................................................................................ passim
OTHER AUTHORITIES
42 F.R. 45916-21 .............................................................................................. 74, 77
52 F.R. 23443-46 (1987) .......................................................................................... 62
76 F.R. 32320 (June 6, 2011) ................................................................................... 75
1 WILLIAM F. PATRY, PATRY ON COPYRIGHT (1st ed. 2007) .................................... 76
41 AM. JUR. 2D Independent Contractors 8, 14, 19, 47 (2005) ........................... 44
6 WEINSTEINS FEDERAL EVIDENCE 1003.02[3] (2011) ......................................... 82
Benjamin A. Goldberger, How the Summer of the Spinoff Came to
Be: The Branding of Characters in American Mass Media, 23 LOY.
L.A. ENT. L. REV. 301 (2003) .............................................................................. 34
Gary M. McLaughlin, Note, Oral Contracts in the Entertainment
Industry, 1 VA. SPORTS & ENT. L.J. 101 (2001) ................................................... 28
Harrison J. Dossick, Resolving Disputes over Oral and Unsigned Film
Agreements, L.A. LAW. 18 (Apr. 1999) ............................................................... 28
EXHIBIT 16
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xii
Jay M. Spillane,
Lawsuits over Handshake Deals Are As Old As the
Entertainment Industry (and Can Be Easily Avoided), 11 ENT. &
SPORTS LAW. 15 (1993) ........................................................................................ 29
MELVILLE B. NIMMER & DAVID NIMMER, NIMMER ON COPYRIGHT
(2011) ............................................................................................................ 62, 76
RESTATEMENT (SECOND) OF TORTS ch. 15, 409-429 (1965) ................................ 44
SECOND SUPP. REG.S REP. ON GEN. REVN OF U.S. COPYRIGHT
LAW, 94TH CONG. 304 (1975) .............................................................................. 16
EXHIBIT 16
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1
STATEMENT OF JURISDICTION
This appeal arises from a partial judgment under FED. R. CIV. P. 54(b) on
appellant Laura Siegel Larsons First Claim for Relief and cross-appellants Warner
Bros. Entertainment Inc. and DC Comics (together DCs) First through Fourth
Counterclaims. Larsons First Claim asserts that copyright termination notices she
served make her joint owner of several early Superman works. DCs
Counterclaims assert that the notices are invalid (First Counterclaim); Larsons
lawsuit is time-barred (Second Counterclaim); and Larsons claims are barred by
an October 2001 settlement agreement (Third and Fourth Counterclaims).
The district court had jurisdiction over these claims. 28 U.S.C. 1331,
1338, 1367. This Court has jurisdiction over DCs Second, Third, and Fourth
Counterclaims, because they were fully and finally adjudicated below. 28 U.S.C.
1291. This Court lacks jurisdiction over Larsons First Claim and DCs First
Counterclaim, which were not fully and finally adjudicated. Infra at 40-41.
INTRODUCTION
This case is about the ownership of copyright in the earliest comics that
introduced elements of the iconic Superman character and story, including aspects
of his appearance, powers, and background. As it comes before this Courtan
appeal and cross-appeal addressing multiple rulings belowthe case presents an
EXHIBIT 16
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2
unusually broad array of doctrinal, factual, and procedural issues. But much of the
case reduces to a familiar proposition: a deal is a deal.
The doctrinal issues focus on an intersection between the 1909 Copyright
Act and the 1976 amendments to that Act. The 1976 Act extended existing
copyrights under the 1909 Actincluding copyrights that had been assigned
while giving the original authors and certain of their heirs the right to terminate
previous assignments of their copyrights and to negotiate new assignments with
existing rights holders or other parties.
By design, the 1976 Act struck a careful balance. On the one hand, it gave
authors (and certain heirs) a fresh start on their original rights and new leverage to
renegotiate old assignments. On the other hand, it gave rights owners who had
acquired and then developed the assigned workssometimes into exceedingly
valuable commercial propertiescontinuing rights to exploit derivative works
created under the assignments, as well as an exclusive, first opportunity to
negotiate new deals to reclaim any terminated rights.
At first, the negotiation process contemplated by the 1976 Act worked here
just as intended. The heirs to Supermans original story writer served notices of
termination as to certain early Superman works. While DC contested the notices
on various groundsincluding that the works at issue were made-for-hire and
hence not subject to terminationthat dispute was shelved for four years while the
EXHIBIT 16
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3
parties worked to negotiate a resolution that would both secure DCs rights, and
ensure the family reaped financial benefits from DCs continued exploitation of
Superman. The family, represented by a prominent entertainment law firm,
ultimately struck a deal with DCone that included every essential term for a re-
grant of rights, provided for various other non-essential terms, and guaranteed the
family many millions of dollars in cash, royalties, and other compensation.
But after agreeing to this deal in writing, the family was approached by a
self-styled intellectual property entrepreneur who dangled the prospect of even
more money. In short order the family reneged on its deal with DC, refused to
complete discussions over a long form contract formalizing the agreement, and
fired their lawyers. The family asserted there was no deal without a long form, and
the district court agreed, casting aside established California contract law
principlesprinciples essential to the entertainment industry, where many business
deals are never formalized. The rule there is simple, however: a deal is a deal,
long form or not.
That principle also lies at the core of the underlying copyright dispute here.
Supermans creators conceived the Superman character, but no one would publish
it. It was only DC, years later, that recognized Supermans commercial potential.
DC employed the creators as artists, purchased the entirety of their rights in
Superman, and promoted and published the first Superman story. DC developed
EXHIBIT 16
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Superman not just commercially, but creatively as well, employing many artists
including but not limited to the original creatorsto develop many of the now-
widely-recognized elements of the Superman mythos.
For their valuable contributions to DCs efforts, DC paid the original
creators millions of dollars in todays terms, pursuant to agreements that could not
have been clearer: DC paid them to create new Superman material for DC, the
exclusive owner of all rights in the character and story. Over the years, the
creators tried to undo their original Superman agreements, but the courts
repeatedly rejected their efforts. And now it is Larson who contends that her
fathers 1930s deals with DC, like her own 2001 deal, were not deals at allshe
says her father was not creating Superman for DC, as his agreements plainly said,
but for himself, and that she should now own rights that her father never did.
The 1976 Act does not sanction her claims. It was intended to allow authors
and heirs to recapture copyrights they initially owned and then assignednot
copyrights they never owned in the first place.
This long-running dispute should be brought to an end. Enforcing Larsons
deal will afford her tens of millions of dollars for which she bargained in 2001,
while protecting the deal her own father struck in the 1930s, when DC employed
him to create new Superman material on DCs behalf.
EXHIBIT 16
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5
STATEMENT OF ISSUES PRESENTED
DCs Cross-Appeal On Its Second Through Fourth Counterclaims
1. a. Whether DC is entitled to entry of judgment on all claims on the basis
of an October 2001 settlement agreement, confirmed by a letter from Larson that
explicitly accepted D.C. Comics offer and described in detail all essential
terms of the parties monumental accord.
b. Whether DC is at least entitled to factfinding on the question whether the
parties intended to be bound by the essential terms identified in Larsons October
2001 letter.
2. Whether Larsons claims are barred by the Copyright Acts three-year
limitations period.
Larsons Appeal On Her First Claim And
DCs Cross-Appeal On Both Parties First Claims

1. Whether this Court lacks jurisdiction over the appeal of the parties
respective First Claims because the district court did not fully and finally
adjudicate the scope of rights to early Superman works at issue in those claims.
2. Assuming the Court has jurisdiction to hear these claims:
a. Whether the district court properly ruled that Superman works created by
Larsons father Jerome Siegel and his collaborator Joseph Shuster at DCs instance
and expenseafter Siegel and Shuster assigned all of their Superman rights to DC
and entered into various employment agreements with DCwere works-for-hire.
EXHIBIT 16
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6
b. Whether the district court erred in ruling that Larson was entitled to
recapture a handful of early Superman works that were made at DCs instance and
expense and/or were not listed in Larsons copyright termination notices.
c. Whether the district court erred in ruling sua sponte on the copyrightable
elements in certain promotional announcements owned by DC, without giving DC
notice or an opportunity to be heard on the issue, and without examining the actual
announcements or a legible copy of them.
STATEMENT OF THE CASE
Superman was co-created by Siegel and Shuster in the 1930s, and introduced
to the world by DC in Action Comics #1, published in 1938. ER-1019; SER-9-10.
This copyright dispute arises more than a half-century later because of a 1976
amendment to the Copyright Act, which allows authorswithin the meaning of
that term under the 1909 version of the Actof copyrighted works (and certain of
their heirs) to terminate earlier assignments of their copyrights and reclaim those
copyrights for themselves. Nobody denies that Siegel and Shuster were the authors
of certain foundational elements of Superman, but neither does anyone deny that
most other elements appeared for the first time in derivative workscomic books,
newspaper strips, and other mediacreated after Siegel and Shuster assigned to
DC all rights to Superman, and were hired by DC along with many other artists to
create new Superman works. The dispute here centers on whether certain of the
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earliest derivative works were made for hire on DCs behalf, making DC the
author of the works under the 1909 Act and precluding termination by Siegels
heirs.
During their lifetimes, neither Siegel nor Shusterdespite a long history of
litigation against DCsought to exercise any termination rights in Superman.
Within a year of Siegels death in 1996, however, his widow Joanne (now
deceased) and daughter Larson served termination notices seeking to recapture a
broad range of Superman works. ER-1024-92. DC disputed most aspects of the
termination notices, but sought to resolve the controversy through negotiation with
Larson and her lawyer Kevin Marks. ER-16; SER-393, 100-01. The parties
reached a settlement agreement on October 19, 2001, in which DC agreed to pay
Larson $3 million in up-front cash, annual guarantees worth $5 million, and tens of
millions more in future profit sharing, in exchange for which DC would receive all
of the putative Superman rights Larson claimed to own. SER-132, 147-48, 434-35,
456-61. A little more than six months later, however, Larson repudiated the
agreement, fired Marks, and began working with Marc Toberoff (a Hollywood
producer/lawyer) and Ari Emanuel (an agent) to sell her putative Superman rights.
SER-133-34, 182-83, 404, 417-20, 422-25, 819-20, 835-37. No buyer emerged;
and in 2004, Larson (now using Toberoff as her lawyer) filed this lawsuit, seeking
a declaration that her termination notices were valid and entitled her to an
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accounting of Superman-related profits. ER-325. DC counterclaimed asserting,
inter alia, that the notices were invalid and Larsons claims were barred by the
parties October 2001 agreement and the statute-of-limitations. ER-273-310.
In 2008, the district court granted partial summary judgment against DC on
its Second through Fourth Counterclaims, holding Larsons claims were neither
time-barred nor precluded by the October 2001 agreement. SER-61-62, 66.
The court also issued a series of partial rulings on Larsons First Claim and
DCs First Counterclaim. The court ruled the vast majority of works listed in
Larsons termination notices were works-for-hire as a matter of law and thus could
not be terminated. ER-43-140. But it held that certain other works were not made-
for-hire and thus could be terminated. ER-81, 114, 189. The court did not,
however, resolve the scope of the rights at issue. Infra at 20-21.
Larson now appeals some (not all) of the adverse rulings on her First Claim,
asserting that the court erred in finding that the following works were made-for-
hire: Action Comics #2-3, #5-61; pages 1-2 of Superman #1, Superman #2-23; and
newspaper strips created after the parties entered into a syndication agreement with
McClure in 1938. ER-81, 114, 189.
DC cross-appeals the rejection of its threshold limitations and settlement
counterclaims. DC also contends that Larsons appeal on her First Claim is unripe
because the court did not declare the scope of rights at issue in that claim and thus
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did not fully adjudicate it (or DCs First Counterclaim). But assuming this Court
has jurisdiction to address the parties First Claims, DC cross-appeals, asserting
that while the courts work-for-hire rulings were correct as to the works contested
by Larson, the court erred in rejecting work-for-hire as to the following works (or
certain key elements therein): Action Comics #1 and #4; pages 3-6 of Superman
#1, and two weeks of newspaper strips created before the McClure agreement. DC
also cross-appeals the courts ruling that pre-Action Comics #1 promotional
announcements, while owned by DC, do not fully depict certain key Superman
elements.
STATEMENT OF FACTS
A. Statutory Background
The 1909 Copyright Act governs the copyright in all worksincluding
those at issue herepublished before January 1, 1978, the effective date of the
1976 Copyright Act. Under the 1909 Act, copyright could be secured for all the
writings of an author. 17 U.S.C. 4 (1909) (repealed 1976). Under the 1909 Act,
an author was entitled to a copyright for an initial 28-year period and an
additional 28-year renewal period. Id. 24.
The 1909 Act defined the statutory term author to include an employer in
the case of works made for hire. 17 U.S.C. 26 (1909). It also provided that in
the case of any work copyrighted by an employer for whom such work is
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made for hire, the author/employer was entitled to renewal rights. Id. 24. These
two sections thus made clear that an employer in the case of a work for hire
was a statutory author with full rights in both the original copyright and the
renewal term. For this reason, the 1976 Acts provisions addressing termination
of the extended renewal termthe provisions at issue herehave no application to
works that were made-for-hire under the 1909 Act, 17 U.S.C. 203(a), 304(c)-(d),
as Larson concedes, LB-21.
A person or entity who commissions a work is the statutory author of that
work under the work-for-hire provision of the 1909 Act whenever the work was
created at the instance and expense of the commissioning party, unless the
parties expressly agreed that the employee or independent contractor retained the
copyright in his work. Twentieth Century Fox Film Corp. v. Entmt Distrib., 429
F.3d 869, 881 (9th Cir. 2005); see infra at 42-43.
B. Factual Background
1. Siegel And Shusters Work-For-Hire Arrangements With DC During
The 1930s And 1940s
Siegel, a young writer in Cleveland, and his high-school friend Shuster, an
illustrator, worked together to conceive many fictional charactersincluding a
crime-fighting hero named Superman. SER-6-7. Between 1933 and 1937,
Siegel and Shuster submitted draft Superman comic strips to several publishers,
without success. ER-584; SER-12, 678.
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In 1937, DC
1
hired Siegel and Shuster to do comic-book work. On
December 4, 1937, Siegel and Shuster entered into an employment agreement
providing that DC would employ [Siegel and Shuster] as Artists for a period of
two years, pay them $10 per page of material, and, in return, Siegel and Shuster
would give their exclusive services in producing certain comic features and
submit all material for any new features to DC. ER-602-03. This 1937
Employment Agreement also provided that if Siegel or Shuster left DCs employ,
they were prohibited from using or copying any of the products or work or
creations or characters or plots used, made or created by [them] while in the
employ of [DC]. ER-602.
Siegel and Shuster submitted various comic strips to DC under this
agreement, including their existing black-and-white Superman drafts. SER-12-13,
678. DC chose to include the Superman story in its new Action Comics comic
book, to be published April 18, 1938, with a June 1938 cover date. DC editor Vin
Sullivan directed Siegel and Shuster to revise[] and expand[] the unfinished
Superman drafts into a full-length 13-panel production suitable for magazine
publication. ER-957; see Siegel v. Natl Periodical Publns, 508 F.2d 909, 911
(2d Cir. 1974). At Sullivans direction, Siegel and Shuster revised the material and

1
DC refers to DC Comics as well as its predecessors and successors
(including Detective Comics and National Comics Publications).
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added several additional pictures to illustrate the story continuityincluding a
new picture showing Superman with a distinct S on his chest, which DCs own
artists colored red. ER-654; SER-385-86. DCs artists colorized the strips,
choosing and adding the iconic blue-and-red color scheme to Siegels and
Shusters black-and-white drafts. SER-441-43. DCs artists also created a cover
for Action Comics #1 based on a panel that featured Superman in his DC-colorized
costumered cape and boots, blue leotard, and heraldic red S crestand
exhibiting super-strength by lifting a car. SER-14, 234-35, 728.
DC artists also created Promotional Announcementsa black-and-white
version of its artists cover artto promote Action Comics #1. SER-15, 678, 730.
These Promotional Announcements were published beginning on April 5, 1938,
before Action Comics #1 was published on April 18, 1938. ER-1019; SER-572,
579-580. DC has filed a motion to lodge an original version of one comic book
containing a Promotional Announcement (Detective Comics #15, published on
April 10, 1938) with the Court for its review. See also SER-729-96.
On March 1, 1938, before the publication of Action Comics #1, Siegel and
Shuster assigned to DC in writing all of their rights in Superman and agreed not to
employ said characters or said story ... without obtaining [DCs] written consent
(1938 Assignment). ER-917. Superman was a success, and after Action Comics
#1 was published, Siegel and Shuster continued to supply DC with draft Superman
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material, for which they were paid $10 per page. ER-83, 960.
The parties memorialized their arrangement in a September 22, 1938,
agreement (1938 Employment Agreement), which provided that Siegel and
Shuster have been doing the art work and continuity for [Superman and other
comics] for us. We wish you to continue to do said work and hereby employ and
retain you for said purposes. ER-605. DC maintained the right to reasonably
supervise the editorial matter of all features, and agreed to continue paying Siegel
and Shuster $10 per page. ER-606-07. The agreement also gave DC the right to
terminate Siegel and Shuster and retain other artists to produce new Superman
works. ER-606. The same day, DC entered into an agreement with the McClure
Syndicate (Syndication Agreement) giving McClure permission to publish
Superman strips in newspapers in exchange for royalties. ER-609-11.
DC exercised constant editorial supervision over Siegel and Shusters
creation of new material, requiring them to send all drafts to DCs editors for
review, giving detailed instructions on story elements and illustrations, and even
suggesting that the pair move to New York where we can be at a moments touch
with everything that you do. SER-219-49, 264-66. This relationship continued
throughout most of the 1940s, during which time Supermans popularity grew and
expanded into other media. ER-858-86. Broad newspaper syndication, successful
merchandising, and effective exploitation of Superman in movie serials, animated
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cartoons, and merchandising resulted in royalty payments, bonuses, and other
compensation for Siegel and Shuster amounting to $5.4 million (in todays terms)
from 1938 to 1946 alone. ER-466, 585-86, 945.
2. Litigation Over Superman During The 1940s, 1960s, And 1970s
DCs relationship with Siegel and Shuster became contentious. Other artists
and editors brought Superman to new media, including radio and film, and created
many of the now-familiar story-lines and catch phrasese.g., Up, up, and away,
or Its a bird, its a plane, its Superman. SER-680-81. Siegel also left to serve
in World War II; and while gone, DC, working with Shuster, published
Superboy stories that Siegel argued DC had no permission to publish. SER-590-
95, 603-07, 680.
In 1947, Siegel and Shuster filed an action against DC in New York state
court seeking to invalidate the 1938 Assignment (Westchester Action). SER-20,
597. The Westchester court issued an interlocutory ruling concluding, inter alia,
that the 1938 Assignment granted all Superman rights to DC, but that publishing
the Superboy stories was improper. ER-939-93. In May 1948, DC, Shuster, and
Siegel entered into a stipulation and consent judgment under which Siegel and
Shuster acknowledged that the 1938 Assignment transferred to DC all rights in
Superman, including the title, names, characters, concept and formula as set
forth in Action Comics #1. ER-995-1017.
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By the late 1950s, Siegel, Shuster, and DC had reconciled their differences.
Siegel again wrote Superman stories for DC, and Shuster received a stipend. SER-
294-96. But in 1965, Siegel and Shuster challenged DCs copyright renewal rights
in Superman, and in 1969 they filed a lawsuit seeking a declaration that they
owned the Superman renewal copyrights. The court held that Siegel and Shuster
assigned to DC all rights in Superman, including renewal rights. Siegel v. Natl
Periodical Publns, 364 F.Supp. 1032 (S.D.N.Y. 1973), affd, 508 F.2d at 913-14.
After this loss, Siegel and Shuster approached DC for financial help. In
1975, DC agreed to provide them a lump sum of $17,500 each, annual payments of
$20,000 each, lifetime medical benefits, and benefits and payments to their heirs.
SER-641-75. In return, Siegel and Shuster acknowledged DC was the exclusive
owner of all right, title and interest in Superman. SER-641. DC increased its
annual payments to more than $125,000 annually, paid special bonuses, and
provided other benefits to Siegel, Shuster, and their families. See SER-390, 427-
31, 448, 641-75, 680.
3. Larsons Termination Notices Under The 1976 Act And The Parties
2001 Settlement Agreement
Congress amended the Copyright Act in 1976 to extend the copyright term
and give authors and certain heirs limited rights to terminate prior copyright grants
for works subject to the extension term. The Act struck a careful compromise
between the interests of authors and grantees, the latter of whom often invested
EXHIBIT 16
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decades of effort to develop copyrighted works into successful properties. SECOND
SUPP. REG. REP. ON GEN. REVN OF U.S. COPYRIGHT LAW, 94TH CONG. 304 (1975).
In 1997, after Siegels death, his widow and daughter served notices
purporting to terminate, as of 1999, various of Siegels Superman copyright grants
to DC (Notices). ER-1018-83. DC disputed the Notices validity; but rather
than litigate, the parties spent the next four years trying to reach a business deal.
Larson was represented by Kevin Marks of the leading entertainment law firm
Gang Tyre, which represents the likes of Clint Eastwood and Steven Spielberg.
SER-98-99, 433-34. DCs lead negotiator was then-General Counsel of Warner
Bros., John Schulman. SER-433-34.
Negotiations progressed, and when expectations grew that a deal would be
reached, DC paid Larson a non-refundable advance of $250,000. SER-416. On
October 16, 2001, DC made a settlement offer to Larson. SER-105, 434. On
October 19, Marks called Schulman to accept the offer and report we are closed.
SER-107-08. Later that day, he sent Schulman a letter (1) confirming that Larson
had accepted D.C. Comics offer; (2) documenting the deals material terms in
six, single-spaced pages; and (3) thanking Schulman for his help and patience in
reaching this monumental accord. SER-25, 61-62, 456-61, 111-12.
Under the parties October 19 agreement, Larson was to assign to DC all of
her rights in the Superman and Spectre properties (including Superboy), in
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exchange for, inter alia, $3 million, an annual guarantee of $500,000 per year for
10 years, and 6% of gross revenues from all media and merchandising revenues
(e.g., television, movies, and toys). SER-456-61. Almost all the money would be
Larsons aloneGang Tyres fee was 5%. SER-798-99.
On October 26, 2001, Schulman wrote back, confirmed the parties
agreement, set forth a more fulsome outline of what we believe the deal weve
agreed to is, and indicated DC would begin drafting a long-form document so we
will have this super-matter transaction in document form. SER-118-19, 397-98,
463-70. Neither Marks nor Larson objected to Schulmans letter. ER-435. DC
began performing its obligations under the October 19 agreement, including
establishing a significant reserve for monies owed, which quickly grew to $20
million. SER-397, 399.
DCs outside counsel worked on the separate long-form document for three
months and sent Marks a draft on February 1, 2002. SER-125, 435, 472-528.
Neither Marks nor Larson raised any objection until May 9, 2002, when Larsons
mother sent DC a letter acknowledging that Larson had accepted DCs October
16, 2001, offer, but objecting to unspecified portions of the long-form document
and concluding that we have no deal[,] and this [long-form] contract makes an
agreement impossible. SER-412-14. Marks told DC the long-form was
aggressive, but not contrary to what had been agreed to, and the parties would
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deal with it. SER-126-27, 130, 436, 439. For the next two months, Marks
reworked the draft, which he sent to Larson on July 15, 2002. SER-131-32.
4. Larson Allies With A New Business Partner Who Induces Her To
Repudiate The 2001 Settlement Agreement
Starting in 2001, Toberoff, the self-described rights-hunter, movie
producer, and intellectual property entrepreneur, began pursuing Siegels and
Shusters heirs. SER-115-16, 182-84, 404, 817-23, 835-36, 859-63. In November
2001, he induced the Shusters to become his business partners and to repudiate
their existing contractual arrangements with DC. SER-183, 858-61.
2
Thereafter,
the Shusters served a termination notice purporting to recapture certain Superman
rights as of October 26, 2013. SER-844-56.
Toberoff targeted the Siegels as well. SER-115-16, 182-83. He wrote
Larsons brother and called Marks seeking to secure the Siegels Superman rights
for himself. SER-814. Marks rebuffed Toberoff, telling him in February, July,
and August 2002 that Larson had made a deal with DC. SER-115-16, 119-24, 182-
83, 811. Toberoff insisted in August 2002 that Marks communicate to Larson that
he and agent Emanuel had an unnamed investor willing to purchase her rights for
$15 million cash and generous back-end compensation. SER-122-24, 811, 875-
76. Marks conveyed this offer to Larson, but admonished her that she had a deal

2
Toberoffs business misconduct is the subject of another lawsuit and two
appellate matters before this Court. Appeal Nos. 11-56934, 11-71844 (Shuster).
EXHIBIT 16
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with DC, and if she repudiated it, Marks would have to testify against [her] in
court. SER-183, 811.
On September 21, 2002, Larson fired Marks, and sent a letter to DC stating
she was ending negotiations. SER-418-20. A month later, Larson signed an
agreement with Toberoffs production company, IP Worldwide, to act as her agent
to exploit her putative Superman rights. SER-184, 422-25. But the promised $15
million investor never materialized, and Toberoff never produced any other buyers.
SER-122-23, 184-87, 811-13, 875-76. Instead, more than seven years of litigation
ensued, and Toberoffwho became Larsons lawyerstands to receive 40% of
any recovery. SER-187, 839-44, 860-63.
3

C. Proceedings Below
Larson filed suit on October 8, 2004. Her First Claim sought a declaration
that her termination notices were valid and effective as of 1999, entitling her to an
accounting of Superman-related profits from 1999 forward. ER-338. DCs First
Counterclaim sought a declaration that the Notices were invalid; its Second
Counterclaim alleged Larsons claims were time-barred; and its Third and Fourth
Counterclaims asserted that Larsons claims were barred by the parties 2001
settlement agreement. ER-293-301.

3
Toberoffs entertainment company also secured a 50% ownership interest in
the Shusters putative rightslater trading that 50% ownership interest for a 50%
contingency fee. SER-186, 860-63.
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In March 2008, the district court issued a partial summary judgment order.
SER-5-90. It held that Larson recaptured certain unspecified rights in Action
Comics #1, but did not recapture the Promotional Announcements containing the
first appearance of Superman. SER-43-44. The order rejected DCs settlement
counterclaims, holding that while the parties had formed an agreement on all
major points of dispute, the terms in Marks October 19, 2001, letter differ in
substance from those set forth in [DCs] later letter of October 26, 2001 such
that there was no unequivocal acceptance of an offer and, thus, no agreement.
SER-63. The court rejected DCs limitations counterclaim as well, accepting
Larsons representations that she did not terminate settlement negotiations until
September 21, 2002, making her claims timely by four days. ER-198.
The parties submitted briefing to resolve remaining work-for-hire issues. In
August 2009, the court ruled that the vast majority of works at issueincluding
Action Comics #2-3, #5-61; pages 1-2 of new material in Superman #1 (which
reprinted the stories in Action Comics #1-4, with some changes to the Action
Comics #1 story); Superman #2-23; and the newspaper strips created after the
Syndication Agreementwere works-for-hire and thus exempt from termination.
ER-43-140. But the court also ruled that Action Comics #4, Superman #1 (pages
3-6), and two weeks of strips created before Syndication Agreement were not
works-for-hire and thus were recaptured. ER-80-81, 140.
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21
The district court expressly reserved ruling on key issues concerning the
scope of rights Larson recaptured. It did not determine the extent to which
Larsons recaptured rights were diminished by DCs rights in the Promotional
Announcements. SER-298-305, 310-13, 321-24, 2-3. It left open whether its
enumeration of the limited Superman elements in Action Comics #1as compared
to the universe of elements DC owns outrightwas intended to be dicta, as
Larson had argued. SER-305-08, 313-19, 325-26, 2-3. And it deferred ruling on
these and other open issues until shortly before the time of a later accounting
trial. SER-198.
That accounting trial never occurred, and the open questions flagged by the
court were never answered. In 2009, the judge presiding over the Superman cases
resigned, and the cases were reassigned. The parties submitted a joint status report
agreeing that the promotional announcement and dicta questions had to be
answered before Larsons First Claim could be fully resolved. SER-146-70.
DC filed Shuster, and Larson and Toberoff responded by moving to stay that
case, and seeking an interlocutory appeal here. SER-143-45. The district court
denied Larsons Rule 54 and stay motions, listing seven open issuesincluding
the promotional announcement and dicta issuesthat foreclosed a finding
that [Larsons First Claim] is final. SER-141. Larson amended her complaint
to remove the request for an accounting of profits from the First Claim, but she did
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22
not eliminate the request for a scope of rights declaration. Dkt. No. 5-1 at 12-14.
She moved again for entry of Rule 54(b) judgment, and on May 17, 2011, the court
entered partial final judgment on Larsons First Claim and DCs First through
Fourth Counterclaims. ER-235-41.
Larson appealed and DC cross-appealed. ER-228, 230.
4
DC moved to
dismiss Larsons appeal, and the Appellate Commissioner denied the motion
without prejudice to its reargument in merits briefing. Dkt. Nos. 5-1, 9.
STANDARD OF REVIEW
This Court review[s] de novo a district courts grant of summary
judgment. Cuellar de Osorio v. Mayorkas, 656 F.3d 954, 959 (9th Cir. 2011).
Summary judgment is appropriate if there is no genuine dispute as to any material
fact and the movant is entitled to judgment as a matter of law. FED. R. CIV. P.
56(a). In considering a motion for summary judgment, [the court] must draw all
reasonable inferences in favor of the nonmoving party. Samuels v. Holland Am.
Line-USA Inc., 656 F.3d 948, 952 (9th Cir. 2011). The non-moving partys
evidence is to be believed, and all justifiable inferences are to be drawn in [its]

4
Larsons brief does not challenge (and thus waives the right to challenge,
Gausvik v. Perez, 392 F.3d 1006, 1008 n.1 (9th Cir. 2004)), several adverse rulings
on her First Claim, including that she did not recapture the Promotional
Announcements, that certain pre-1938 material created by Siegel was not
copyrightable, and that she was not entitled to profits from foreign exploitation of
Superman. ER-76-77, 180-81, 207.
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23
favor, such that its version of any disputed issue of fact is presumed correct.
Thomas v. Ponder, 611 F.3d 1144, 1149 (9th Cir. 2010). The court must make
[c]redibility determinations and weigh[] the evidence in favor of the non-
moving party, Narayan v. EGL, Inc., 616 F.3d 895, 899 (9th Cir. 2010), and must
disregard all evidence favorable to the moving party that the jury is not required to
believe, Wallace v. City of San Diego, 479 F.3d 616, 624 (9th Cir. 2007).
SUMMARY OF ARGUMENT
DCs Cross Appeal On Its Second Through Fourth Counterclaims
DCs Second, Third, and Fourth Counterclaims allege that Larsons claims
below are barred by the parties 2001 settlement agreement and the Copyright
Acts three-year limitations period. These threshold claims were fully adjudicated
by the district courts Rule 54(b) judgment and are ripe for appeal.
I. Marks October 19, 2001, letter reflects a legally enforceable agreement
to resolve all claims at issue here, because it details all the essential terms of an
agreement: the scope of rights at issue, a significant cash payment, and generous
royalty terms, amounting to tens of millions of dollars for Larson. The letter
expressly stated that Larson accepted DCs offer and referred to the parties
monumental accord. Both parties representatives testified that they understood
an agreement had been reached. Given the parties agreement on the essential
terms detailed in the October 19, 2001, letter, it is irrelevant that the parties
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24
subsequently failed to conclude a formalized deal document. E.g., The Facebook,
Inc. v. Pac. Nw. Software, Inc., 640 F.3d 1034, 1038 (9th Cir. 2011). At a
minimum, DC is entitled to factfinding on the question whether the parties
intended to be bound by the essential terms identified in the October 19 letter.
E.g., Mattel, Inc. v. MGA Entmt, Inc., 616 F.3d 904, 910-13 (9th Cir. 2010).
II. DC was entitled to factfinding on its limitations counterclaim. Under the
parties tolling agreement, the limitations period restarted ten days after either
party terminat[ed] negotiations in writing. Larson herself has taken conflicting
positions as to when negotiations were terminated. Under the theory she asserted
belowwhich the district court accepted on summary judgmenther claims were
timely. But in Shuster, to avoid a tortious interference claim, she asserted a theory
of termination that would make her claims here time-barred. Her conflicting
positions confirm the existence of a factual dispute only a jury can resolve.
Larsons And DCs Appeals On Their Respective First Claims
I. The district court entered Rule 54(b) judgment on Larsons First Claim
and DCs First Counterclaim, but the judgment did not fully and fairly adjudicate
those claims, because the court never conclusively determined all rights and
obligations in the Superman works at issue.
II. Assuming the judgment on the parties First Claims is ripe for appeal, the
judgment should be affirmed in part and reversed in part. The court held that the
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25
vast majority of works at issue were created as works-for-hire, including Action
Comics #2-3, #5-61, pages 1-2 of new material in Superman #1, Superman #2-23,
and all strips created after the Syndication Agreement with McClure. Those
rulings all involve Superman works created entirely after Siegel and Shuster
assigned all Superman rights to DC and entered into employment agreements with
DC to produce new Superman work under DCs direction. Those works are
obviously and unambiguously works-for-hire. But the court also held that Action
Comics #1 and #4, Superman #1 (pages 3-6), and the two weeks of Strips created
before the Syndication Agreement were not works-for-hire and thus could be
recaptured. Those rulings were incorrect. The district court also erred in ruling on
rights contained within certain Promotional Announcements without examining the
best visual evidence of their contents.
ARGUMENT
DCS CROSS-APPEAL ON ITS
SECOND THROUGH FOURTH COUNTERCLAIMS

I. THE DISTRICT COURT ERRED IN GRANTING SUMMARY
JUDGMENT TO LARSON ON THE THRESHOLD SETTLEMENT
AGREEMENT ISSUE
A. Under California Law, A Contract Is Enforceable So Long As
Parties Agree On Its Essential Terms, Even Absent Formalized
Documentation

Under California law, an enforceable agreement is formed where one party
accepts another partys offer in exchange for consideration. CAL. CIV. CODE
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26
1550. And once a party accepts an offer, an enforceable agreement may arise
even if subsequent documentation is contemplated, or additional terms and
conditions are subsequently raised. See Facebook, 640 F.3d at 1037-38; Estate of
Thottam, 165 Cal.App.4th 1331, 1340-41 (2008); Elite Show Servs., Inc. v.
Staffpro, Inc., 119 Cal.App.4th 263, 268-69 (2004); Harris v. Rudin, Richman &
Appel, 74 Cal.App.4th 299, 307 (1999); Ersa Grae Corp. v. Fluor Corp., 1
Cal.App.4th 613, 624 & n.3 (1991).
The question is simply whether the agreed-upon terms are sufficiently
definite that a court can ascertain the parties obligations thereunder and determine
whether those obligations have been performed or breached. Elite, 119
Cal.App.4th at 268. So long as the parties have agreed to its existing terms, and
those terms are definite, the fact that an agreement contemplates subsequent
documentation does not invalidate the agreement. Ersa, 1 Cal.App.4th at 624 n.3;
see Facebook, 640 F.3d at 1037-38; Thottam, 165 Cal.App.4th at 1340-41.
Any other rule would allow a party to repudiate a contract whenever the
understanding was that it should be reduced to another written form, by simply
suggesting other and additional terms and conditions. Clarke v. Fiedler, 44
Cal.App.2d 838, 847 (1941). If this were the rule, the contract would never be
completed in cases where, by changes in the market, or other events it became
the interest of either party to adopt that course in order to escape or evade
EXHIBIT 16
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#:15700

27
obligations incurred in the ordinary course of commercial business. Id. Put
simply, few contracts would be enforceable if subsequent disputes were taken
as evidence that an agreement was never reached. Patel v. Liebermensch, 45
Cal.4th 344, 352 (2008). Accordingly, [w]here the writing at issue shows no
more than an intent to further reduce the informal writing to a more formal one,
the parties failure to follow it with a more formal writing does not negate the
existence of the prior contract. Harris, 74 Cal.App.4th at 307.
Facebook illustrates this rule. After one day of settlement negotiations, the
parties signed a handwritten, one-and-a-third page term sheet reflecting basic terms
of a corporate acquisition, including cash and stock consideration and mutual
releases. 640 F.3d at 1037. The settlement subsequently foundered during
negotiation over documents that Facebook said were required to finalize the
agreement, including a stock agreement and release form. Id.
This Court held that the parties had formed an enforceable agreement,
because the existing writing showed that the parties meant to bind themselves and
each other, even though everyone understood that some material aspects of the deal
would be papered later. Id. at 1038. An informal agreement is not enforceable,
the Court explained, if it lacks necessary term[s], but it will be enforced so long
as the terms it does include are sufficiently definite for a court to determine
whether a breach has occurred and fashion an appropriate remedy. Id. at 1037-38.
EXHIBIT 16
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#:15701

28
The test for enforceability, this Court remarked, is not very demanding, and was
easily passed by the term sheet: The parties agreed that Facebook would
swallow up ConnectU, the Winklevosses would get cash and a small piece of
Facebook, and both sides would stop fighting and get on with their lives. Id.
Much the same is true here, as the following sections show.
B. The October 19, 2001, Writing Constitutes An Enforceable
Agreement As A Matter Of Law
The uncontradicted, documentary evidence establishes that Larson accepted
DCs offer on October 19, 2001, in a written letter that identifies all the essential
terms of the settlement.
1. The October 19 letter explicitly stated: The Siegel Family has
accepted D.C. Comics offer of October 16, 2001. SER-456. The letter
congratulated DC on this monumental accord. SER-461. And it detailed [t]he
terms of the agreement in six, single-spaced, typewritten pages, id.a much more
thorough and detailed writing than the one-and-a-third page handwritten sheet
enforced in Facebook. SER-456-61.
In the entertainment industry, it is standard for parties to recognize and
perform contractual obligations in the absence of a formalized, long-form contract
(or, sometimes, any written contract). See Gary M. McLaughlin, Note, Oral
Contracts in the Entertainment Industry, 1 VA. SPORTS & ENT. L.J. 101, 117-20
(2001); Harrison J. Dossick, Resolving Disputes over Oral and Unsigned Film
EXHIBIT 16
235
#:15702

29
Agreements, L.A. LAW. 18, 19 (Apr. 1999); Jay M. Spillane, Lawsuits over
Handshake Deals Are As Old As the Entertainment Industry (and Can Be Easily
Avoided), 11 ENT. & SPORTS LAW. 15, 15 (1993). The question, as in Facebook, is
simply whether the essential terms of the agreement can be identified. Here the
October 19 letter specified every term deemed essential as a matter of law in a
copyright assignment, i.e., the subject matter, the price, and the party against
whom enforcement is sought. Levin v. Knight, 780 F.2d 786, 787 (9th Cir. 1986);
see Lamle v. Mattel, Inc., 394 F.3d 1355, 1361-62 (Fed. Cir. 2005); Toledano v.
OConnor, 501 F.Supp.2d 127, 142 (D.D.C. 2007). The letter identified:
the full scope of rights assigned: all of [their] rights in the Superman
and Spectre properties (including Superboy), resulting in 100%
ownership to D.C. Comics

the precise cash terms: an advance of $2,000,000 and a signing bonus
of $1,000,000

the specific royalty terms: 6% of Superman/Spectre Gross Revenues
from all media other than publications and 1% of the cover price of DC
Comics publications. SER-456-58.

Nowhere did the letter contain any suggestion that Larsons acceptance was
tentative or contingent on formal documentation.
5
The extrinsic record confirms

5
Under California law, an initial writing is not enforceable if it clearly
demonstrates that the parties did not intend to be bound until other documents were
executed. See Bustamante v. Intuit, Inc., 141 Cal.App.4th 199, 208-11 (2006);
Harris, 74 Cal.App.4th at 307; Banner Entmt, Inc. v. Super. Ct., 62 Cal.App.4th
348, 358 (1998); Beck v. Am. Health Grp. Intl, Inc., 211 Cal.App.3d 1555, 1562-
63 (1989); Rennick v. O.P.T.I.O.N. Care, Inc., 77 F.3d 309, 316 (9th Cir. 1996).
EXHIBIT 16
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#:15703

30
the opposite. Marks testified he worked through the last open point of the
agreement with Schulman on October 16, which closed the deal, and he
believed that an accord had been reached on the terms exactly set forth in this
letter. SER-105-06, 111-12. Schulman testified the October 19 letter accurately
set forth all material terms of our agreement. SER-435. DC manifested its
understanding that an agreement was reached by beginning performance, setting
aside a reserve account for the Siegels and including in its license agreement with
Warner Bros. a requirement that the Siegel family be given screen credit in an
upcoming Superman movieboth terms required by the October 19 writing. SER-
397, 399, 435-36, 459.
2. The district court nevertheless held that no agreement was formed on
October 19, finding that the terms of Marks October 19 acceptance letter were
materially different from DCs five-page letter of October 26, 2001, and vastly
different from the 56-page long form draft of February 1, 2002. SER-64.
These differences, the court found, showed that the parties had not passed the
threshold where they had finalized and assented to all material terms, because as
they attempted to sketch in the finer details of a settlement from the broad outlines
contained in the October 19 letter, more and more issues arose upon which they
could not reach agreement, resulting in the negotiations falling apart. SER-63-64.
EXHIBIT 16
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#:15704

31
That analysis misses the point. Marks October 19 acceptance of DCs offer
settled the matter, and none of the subsequent discussions undid that contract. The
fact that the parties did not reach agreement on issues that arose as they
attempted to formalize the deal has no bearing on whether the parties had
previously agreed on the essential terms of the deal, while understanding that
some material aspects of the deal would be papered later. Facebook, 640 F.3d at
1038. And the court nowhere identified in the October 26 letter any disagreement
over any essential term specified in the October 19 letteri.e., the scope of rights
transferred or key financial terms.
6

Rather than revealing a disagreement over essential terms, DCs October 26
letter expressly confirms its understanding that a binding agreement had been
reached. The letter states that Schulman was merely providing a more fulsome
outline of what we believe the deal weve agreed to is, and that DC would begin
working on the draft agreement to put this super-matter transaction in document
form. SER-463 (emphasis added). The October 26 letter itself was thus neither

6
The court wrongly suggested that this case is like Weddington Prods., Inc. v.
Flick, 60 Cal.App.4th 793 (1998), because in both cases the parties had agreed to
a rough outline of an agreement, but were thereafter unable to reach agreement on
the finer details and the negotiations fell apart. SER-62. In fact, Weddington held
the settlement agreement at issue unenforceable only because the parties had failed
to agree on the most essential matter in dispute between themthe terms of a
license for a sound library, which was a material issue to both sides and thus
not a minor, immaterial or separable issue. 60 Cal.App.4th at 815.
EXHIBIT 16
238
#:15705

32
an acceptance nor a rejection of an offer by the Siegelsit was instead a
confirmation of terms already agreed to, as set forth in the October 19 letter, with
further recognition that the deal would be papered. Facebook, 640 F.3d at 1038.
The district courts focus on the vastly different February 2002 long-form
agreement was even more misplaced. It was, of course, vastly different in the
sense that it was a 56-page, detailed, formal draft contract, rather than a listing of
termsjust the kind of formal documentation that was attempted without success
in Facebook. But, again, nowhere did the court identify any essential term in the
long-form agreement that differed from the essential terms in the October 19 letter.
Marks himself did not express any reservations about the February 2002 long-form
until three months later, after he learned that Larson had complained about it.
SER-436. Even then, Marks told Schulman the draft was not contrary to what
[had been] agreed to and the parties could deal with it. SER-126-27, 130, 436.
In any event, even if the February 2002 draft included different terms, it is
the new terms that would be unenforceable, not the October 19 terms. As this
Court explained in holding that Facebooks duty to draft deal documents did not
render the preexisting term sheet unenforceable: [I]f Facebook should draft terms
that are unfair or oppressive, or that deprive the Winklevosses of the benefit of
their bargain, the district court could reject them as a breach of the implied
covenant of good faith and fair dealing . The district court got it exactly right
EXHIBIT 16
239
#:15706

33
when it found the Settlement Agreement enforceable but refused to add the stack
of documents drafted by Facebooks deal lawyers. 640 F.3d at 1038. The same
analysis applies here. The 56 pages drafted by DCs lawyers were just thatpages
drafted by DCs lawyers. A binding contract already existed, in the essential terms
the Siegels accepted on October 19.
3. Although the district court itself identified no disagreements over
essential terms reflected in the correspondence and drafts following the October 19
letter, Larson offered up some 10 pages of differences. But none were raised at the
time (i.e., six years earlier, in 2001), nor did they reflect material differences over
an essential term. For example, Larson contended the October 19 and October 26
letters described the rights transfer differently, but both merely used different
lawyerly phrases to say that DC would receive 100% of the rights in all Superman
properties. Compare SER-458, with SER-464. Larson also asserted that the letters
state different terms for royalty reductions in extraordinary cases involving the
use of Superman rights with other properties, but the only difference is that while
the October 19 letter gives one example of such a use, the October 26 letter
provides additional examples; the basic contractual term is identical. Compare
SER-457-58, with SER-467-68. Larson also pointed to language about Superman
cameo appearances in other characters stories, SER-553-54, but both letters
provide that royalties for cameos will be zero, compare SER458, with SER-467,
EXHIBIT 16
240
#:15707

34
consistent with industry standards, SER-172-75; Benjamin A. Goldberger, How the
Summer of the Spinoff Came to Be: The Branding of Characters in American
Mass Media, 23 LOY. L.A. ENT. L. REV. 301, 320, 371 (2003).
7

Other purported differences Larson identifiede.g., representations and
warranties, an obligation to provide certain historical documents, a right of first
refusal on biographical works, publicity obligations, advertising credits, dispute-
resolution procedures, and indemnitieslikewise do not represent material
differences concerning essential terms. See Inamed Corp. v. Kuzmak, 275
F.Supp.2d 1100, 1120-22 (C.D. Cal. 2002) (terms concerning license termination,
indemnification, sublicenses, transfer of rights, confidentiality, and dispute
resolution not essential). The differences in language thus do not undermine the
basic agreement that is reflected in the plain terms of the October 19 letter and
confirmed by the parties contemporaneous conduct and subsequent testimony.
C. At A Minimum, DC Is Entitled To Factfinding As To Whether
The Parties Intended To Be Bound By The Essential Terms
Identified In The October 19, 2001, Letter

At minimum, if there were any genuine dispute as to whether the parties
intended to be bound by the essential terms identified in the October 19 letter, that

7
As Schulman explained, the different language in his letter concerned the
precise definition of cameo, SER-437, which would have been worked out in the
long form. Marks did not object to Schulmans description of cameos at the
time, and when asked at his deposition to identify all differences between his letter
and Schulmans, he did not mention cameos. SER-118-19, 435, 533-44.
EXHIBIT 16
241
#:15708

35
dispute should have been resolved by a jury. The question whether parties
intended to be bound by terms expressed in an informal agreement is one of fact,
see Bustamante, 141 Cal.App.4th at 208; Banner, 62 Cal.App.4th at 358, and thus
summary judgment is inappropriate where that question is materially contested,
S. Cal. Painters v. Best Interiors, Inc., 359 F.3d 1127, 1130 (9th Cir. 2004); see
Callie v. Near, 829 F.2d 888, 891 (9th Cir. 1987) (summary enforcement
inappropriate where there is conflicting evidence as to whether parties agreed
on material terms of settlement agreement).
8

The record described above, especially when viewed favorably to DC,
plainly precludes summary judgment against DC on this question. In Mattel, this
Court reversed the same district court for making improper determinations
concerning contractual intent on summary judgment, where they turn[ed] in part
on the credibility of conflicting extrinsic evidence. 616 F.3d at 910; see Mattel,
Inc. v. MGA Entmt, Inc., 2011 WL 3420603, *2 (C.D. Cal. Aug. 4, 2011) (jury
finding on remand opposite of what court held on summary judgment).
The district court made the same mistake here. Rather than accepting all
inferences and making all credibility determinations in DCs favor, it engaged in
its own factfinding as to the parties intent, and rejected inferences favoring DC.

8
The district court said Callie found no enforceable agreement because of
disagreements over its finer details, SER-64, but Callie actually found disputed
factual issues concerning agreement on essential terms, see 829 F.2d at 890-91.
EXHIBIT 16
242
#:15709

36
For example, the court speculated that DCs post-agreement conduct could as
much be seen as goodwill gestures on defendants part while the negotiations
continued as [they] could reflect an indication on [DCs] part that they thought
they were contractually bound to do the same. SER-65. But on summary
judgment, the court was required to adopt the inference favorable to DC.
Similarly, in analyzing the differences among the letters and February draft
agreement, the court observed that materiality is in the eye of the beholder, and
then held that the differences were material enough to establish that there was no
agreement on October 19, 2001. SER-63. But any question whose answer
depends on the eye of the beholder is a classic jury question. Atla-Medine v.
Crompton Corp., 2001 WL 1382592, *6 (S.D.N.Y. Nov. 7, 2001) (where issues are
in the eyes of the beholder, [r]are is the case where summary judgment would
be appropriate).
9
The district court also appeared to credit Marks subsequent

9
Medina v. Ramsey Steel Co., 238 F.3d 674, 681-82 (5th Cir. 2001) (what
constitutes substantial sales experience is in the eye of the beholder and thus
the trier-of-facts duty to determine); Nike, Inc. v. Just Did It Enters., 6 F.3d
1225, 1226 (7th Cir. 1993) (reversing summary judgment ruling on parody defense
because [h]umor is in the eyes of the beholder); Recycling Solutions Tech.,
LLC v. Rosenberg, 2011 WL 1696826, *1 (E.D. Ky. May 4, 2011) (Beauty may
be in the eye of the beholder, but summary judgment requires something a bit more
concrete.); Webster Indus., Inc. v. Northwood Doors, Inc., 320 F.Supp.2d 821,
824-25 (N.D. Iowa 2004) (though fraud, like beauty, is in the eye of the beholder
this courts task on motions for partial summary judgment [is to] determine only
whether the resisting parties have generated genuine issues of material fact); Vass
v. Compaq Computer Corp., 953 F.Supp. 114, 119 (D. Md. 1997) (judgment
made through the eyes of the beholder is not to be summarily determined).
EXHIBIT 16
243
#:15710

37
testimony about the relevant events over testimony from DC witnesses, including
testimony concerning the goodwill gesture point, which DC witness Paul Levitz
disputed, and the materiality of differences between the October 19 and 26 letters,
which Schulman addressed. SER-67, 397-99, 435-37.
Beyond the record evidence already discussed, new evidence has come to
light further indicating that Larson knew she was bound by the October 19 terms.
In Shuster, the district court compelled Larson to produce a July 2003 letter she
wrote to her brother, in which she repeatedly states that Marks insisted, in August
2002, that Larson had a deal with Time Warner/DC. SER-810-14, 824-25. The
letter states that Marks would testify against [her] in court if she repudiated the
deal and accepted Toberoffs offer. SER-811. The letter confirms that Marks told
Toberoff that Larson had a deal with DC. SER-811. Given this letter, there is at
least a jury question as to whether Larson understood she was bound to the
October 19 terms.
II. THE DISTRICT COURT ERRED IN GRANTING SUMMARY
JUDGMENT TO LARSON ON DCS LIMITATIONS
COUNTERCLAIM
The district courts order granting summary judgment against DC on its
limitations counterclaim also erroneously resolves factual disputes against DC.
Copyright claims must be filed within three years after the claim accrued,
or 1,095 days. 17 U.S.C. 507(b). Larsons claims accrued on April 16, 1999
EXHIBIT 16
244
#:15711

80
is independently copyrightable, Feist, 499 U.S. at 363, and because it was created
at DCs instance and expense, it is owned by DC.
Second, DC is at least joint owner of the overall Superman story in Action
Comics #4, including its artwork. See Gaiman v. McFarlane, 360 F.3d 644, 659
(7th Cir. 2004) (The contents of a comic book are typically the joint work of four
artiststhe writer, the penciler[,] the inker[,] and the colorist who colors it.).
Under the 1909 Act, a joint work was created where multiple authors made
contributions to be integrated into a single work. See Shapiro, Bernstein & Co. v.
Jerry Vogel Music Co., 161 F.2d 406, 410 (2d Cir. 1946). Siegel obviously
intended the football-story script to be combined with illustrations to form a comic
strip, and DC of course intended its artwork to be combined with Siegels story.
Accordingly, DC is at least a joint owner of the entire Action Comics #4 story.
5. Promotional Announcements
While the district court correctly held that Promotional Announcements
published prior to Action Comics #1 were not recaptured, SER-43-44, it erred in
describing the copyrightable elements encompassed therein, SER-44-45.
The courts ruling arose from partial summary judgment motions that were
never intended to address the scope of rights at issue in the Announcements, but
only threshold questions concerning the validity of Larsons Notices as to those
works. DC arguedand the district court agreedthat Larson failed to recapture
EXHIBIT 16
245
#:15712

81
the Announcements published before Action Comics #1 because they fell outside
the Notices statutory time limit. SER-43-44; 699-712. Larson has not appealed
that holding, waiving any right to challenge it. See Gausvik, 392 F.3d at 1008 n.1.
The courts order, however, made gratuitous and inaccurate comments
concerning the copyrightable elements in the Announcements, based on the courts
review of a poor, multiple-generation photocopy. SER-44-45. DC filed a motion
for clarification asserting that these statements could not be binding because
neither party moved for summary judgment as to the scope of the Announcements.
SER-328-343. The district court found otherwise, on the ground that Larsons
opposition to DCs motion raised questions concerning the scope of the
copyrightable material contained in those announcements. SER-1. Larsons
opposition, however, contended only that DCs motion raised classic issues of
fact concerning the scope of rights in the Announcements, precluding summary
judgment on the very scope question the court then decided. SER-356-57.
Indeed, an entire section of Larsons brief was titled The Question Of What
Literary Elements Are Actually Contained In The Ad [Is] A Genuine Issue Of
Material Fact. SER-356. On reply, DC fully agreed that this issue should be
reserved for trial and was not an issue for summary judgment. ER-353.
Before a court can grant summary judgment sua sponte, the moving party
must have reasonable notice and a full and fair opportunity to ventilate the
EXHIBIT 16
246
#:15713

82
issues. Cool Fuel, Inc. v. Connett, 685 F.2d 309, 312 (9th Cir. 1982). DC had
neither. The only issue on summary judgment was whether the Announcements
were covered by Larsons Notices. While the scope question came up in briefing,
both parties agreed it was a disputed issue for trial.
The court below also denied DC an opportunity to be heard. Because the
only issue properly before the court was when the Announcements were first
publishedand not their copyrightable contentDC did not present original
versions of them. Instead, DC appended a multiple-generation photocopy from
More Fun Comics #31 and a photocopied printout of a photo of Detective Comics
#15. See SER-329-43. After reviewing these poor copies, the district court stated
at oral argument: [Y]ou can hardly make out whether its an S or a 5 or what
it is on his chest. SER-339-340 . Rather than reserving the issue for trial or
reviewing an original version, the courts summary judgment order concluded that
the S crest is not recognizable. SER-44.
That ruling was incorrect. Where, as here, the content of a work is at issue,
[a]n original writing is required in order to prove its content. FED. R. EVID.
1002; see Seiler v. Lucasfilm, Ltd., 808 F.2d 1316, 1319 (9th Cir. 1986). Given
the hazards of inaccurate or incomplete duplication, id.; see U.S. v. Diaz-Lopez,
625 F.3d 1198, 1201 (9th Cir. 2010), a copy of lesser quality than the original is
not an adequate substitute, see 6 WEINSTEINS FEDERAL EVIDENCE 1003.02[3]
EXHIBIT 16
247
#:15714

83
(2011); Lozano v. Ashcroft, 258 F.3d 1160, 1166 (10th Cir. 2001); U.S. v.
Alexander, 326 F.2d 736, 742-43 (4th Cir. 1964); Tex Print Indus., Inc. v. Zayre
Corp., 1977 WL 22752, *1 n.1 (D. Mass. Feb. 10, 1977).
The courts failure to review an original version of the Announcements
resulted in multiple errors. As is clear from the copy of Detective Comics #15 DC
seeks to lodge and from the true-to-scale image on the next page below, the
Announcements, in fact, clearly do depict Supermans S-shield, super-strength,
costume, and facial features. Indeed, the S-shield is as recognizable in the
Announcements as in the original Action Comics #1 cover
24
:

24
The cover reproduced in the summary judgment order was not the version
that appeared in 1938it is from the DC Comics Archive Edition published in
1997. This special edition completely reconstructed the original, which had low
color registration making the S difficult to discern.
EXHIBIT 16
248
#:15715

84

EXHIBIT 16
249
#:15716

85

Version Electronically Filed By DC Below
EXHIBIT 16
250
#:15717

86

Version Delivered to Chambers By DC Below
This Court should reverse the district courts ruling and remand so the
copyrightable elements in the Announcements can be determined at trial.
Case: 11-55863 03/23/2012 ID: 8115931 DktEntry: 31-1 Page: 100 of 117(100 of 125)
EXHIBIT 16
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87
CONCLUSION
This Court should grant judgment as a matter of law on DCs settlement and
statute-of-limitations counterclaims and dismiss the remainder of this appeal on
that basis. Alternatively, this Court should remand so the district court can hold a
trial on these counterclaims and fully adjudicate Larsons First Claim and DCs
First Counterclaim as well. If this Court decides to reach the merits of the parties
First Claims now, it should affirm in part and reverse in part, as described above.
Respectfully submitted,

JONATHAN D. HACKER

PATRICK T. PERKINS
PERKINS LAW OFFICE, P.C.
1711 Route 9D
Cold Spring, New York 10516
MATTHEW T. KLINE
CASSANDRA L. SETO


Dated: March 23, 2003

Case: 11-55863 03/23/2012 ID: 8115931 DktEntry: 31-1 Page: 101 of 117(101 of 125)
EXHIBIT 16
252
#:15719

APPELLATE CASE NO. 11-55863;
CROSS-APPEAL CASE NO. 11-56034
U UU UNITED NITED NITED NITED S SS STATES TATES TATES TATES C CC COURT OF OURT OF OURT OF OURT OF A AA APPEALS PPEALS PPEALS PPEALS
FOR THE FOR THE FOR THE FOR THE N NN NINTH INTH INTH INTH C CC CIRCUIT IRCUIT IRCUIT IRCUIT

LAURA SIEGEL LARSON
Plaintiff, Counterclaim-Defendant, Appellant, and Cross-Appellee.
v.
WARNER BROS. ENTERTAINMENT INC., DC COMICS

APPELLANT LAURA SIEGEL LARSONS THIRD BRIEF ON CROSS-APPEAL

Appeal From The United States District Court for the Central District
of California,
Case No. CV-04-8400 ODW (RZx), Hon. Otis D. Wright II

Marc Toberoff
[email protected]
Keith G. Adams
[email protected]
Pablo D. Arredondo
[email protected]
Malibu, California 90265
Telephone: (310) 246-3333
Facsimile: (310) 246-3101

Attorneys for Plaintiff-Appellant,
Laura Siegel Larson, individually and
as personal representative of the Estate
of Joanne Siegel

Case: 11-55863 05/24/2012 ID: 8191347 DktEntry: 43-1 Page: 1 of 90
EXHIBIT 17
253
#:15720

i
TABLE OF CONTENTS

COUNTER-STATEMENT OF JURISDICTION ..................................................... 1

INTRODUCTION ..................................................................................................... 1

ISSUES PRESENTED ON CROSS-APPEAL ......................................................... 4

STATEMENT OF FACTS ON CROSS-APPEAL ................................................... 5

A. Settlement Negotiations Between The Siegels and DC ........................ 5

SUMMARY OF ARGUMENT ................................................................................. 8

ARGUMENT ........................................................................................................... 13

I. NO AGREEMENT WAS REACHED BY THE PARTIES ......................... 13

A. The October 19 Letter Was A Counter-Offer That Warner
Never Accepted ................................................................................... 14

1. Contract Formation Requires An Objectively Manifested
Agreement To The Same Material Terms ................................ 14

2. There Was No Accepted Offer, Merely An Exchange Of
Unaccepted Counteroffers ........................................................ 15

B. The Numerous Material Differences Between The Proposals
Demonstrate That No Agreement Was Consummated ....................... 17

1. Material Differences As To Scope Of The Agreement ............ 17

2. Material Differences As To Monetary Terms........................... 18

3. Other Material Differences ....................................................... 22

C. Warners Cases On This Issue Are Manifestly Inapposite As
They Concern The Enforceability Of Signed Agreements ................. 24

EXHIBIT 17
254
#:15721

ii
D. A Final Written Agreement Signed By The Parties Was
Required .............................................................................................. 26

E. The Clear Reservations Demonstrate That No Contract Was
Formed ................................................................................................. 28

F. Established Contract Law Applies To The Film Industry .................. 30

G. Summary Judgment Is Appropriate Because No Enforceable
Agreement Existed As A Matter of Law ............................................. 31

1. Summary Judgment As To Contract Formation Is Proper ...... 31

2. None Of Warners Purported Evidence Does Anything
To Establish That A Contract Was Formed .............................. 33

II. THE SIEGELS ACTION WAS TIMELY FILED ...................................... 36

III. NO PART OF ACTION COMICS, NO. 1 IS WORK-FOR-HIRE ................ 39

A. The District Court Properly Rejected Warners Work-for-
Hire Claim As To Action Comics, No. 1 ........................................... 39

1. Claim And Issue Preclusion Apply To Issues And Claims
Raised Or Which Could Have Been Raised ............................. 40

2. Warners Arguments Are Unpersuasive ................................... 42

a. The Work-For-Hire Issue Was Decided ..................... 42

b. The Work-For-Hire Issue Was Litigated And
The Second Circuits Ruling Is Not Dicta ...................... 43

B. The Alleged Additions Were Not Work-For-Hire .......................... 45

C. DC Is Not A Joint Author Of Action Comics, No. 1 ........................... 52

IV. ACTION COMICS, NO. 4 AND SUPERMAN, NO. 1 ARE NOT
WORKS-FOR-HIRE ..................................................................................... 53

EXHIBIT 17
255
#:15722

iii
V. THE SIEGELS TERMINATION RECAPTURED THE FIRST TWO
WEEKS OF SUPERMAN NEWSPAPER STRIPS .................................... 54

A. The Strips Were Not Work-For-Hire ............................................... 54

B. Not Listing the Strips Separately In The Termination Was
Harmless Error .................................................................................... 56

1. Harmless Error Is Broadly Defined ..................................... 56

2. Warner Was On Notice Of The Siegels Intent To
Terminate The Newspaper Strips ............................................. 57

3. Warners Reliance On Burroughs Is Misplaced ....................... 58

4. Warners Remaining Arguments Lack Merit ........................... 58

VI. SIEGEL AND SHUSTERS OTHER SUPERMAN WORKS WERE
NOT WORKS-FOR-HIRE ........................................................................ 59

A. Action Comics, Nos. 2-3, 5-6 ............................................................... 61

B. The Newspaper Strips ......................................................................... 62

C. Action Comics, Nos. 7-61, Superman, Nos. 1-23 ................................ 66

VII. THIS COURT HAS JURISDICTION OVER THE APPEAL OF THE
FIRST CLAIM AND FIRST FOURTH COUNTERCLAIMS .................. 68

A. The District Court Fully Adjudicated The First Claim and First-
Fourth Counterclaims, Which Did Not Include The Ads Issue ...... 68

B. The District Court Accurately Described The Promotional
Announcements ................................................................................... 71

CONCLUSION ........................................................................................................ 74

CERTIFICATE OF COMPLIANCE ....................................................................... 75

STATUTORY ADDENDUM ................................................................................. 76
EXHIBIT 17
256
#:15723

iv

CERTIFICATE OF SERVICE ................................................................................ 77

EXHIBIT 17
257
#:15724

v

CASES

Aalmuhammed v. Lee,
202 F.3d 1227 (9th Cir. 2000) .................................................................................52

Amerisource Bergen Corp. v. Dialysist West, Inc.,
465 F.3d 946 (9th Cir. 2006) ...................................................................................69

Apablasa v. Merritt & Co.,
176 Cal. App. 2d 719 (1959) ............................................................................. 15-16

Applied Med. Res. Corp. v. U.S. Surgical Corp.,
352 F. Supp. 2d 1119 (C.D. Cal. 2005) ...................................................................44

Banner Entertainment, Inc. v. Superior Court,
62 Cal. App. 4th 348 (1998) ....................................................................... 27, 32, 35

Batjac Productions Inc. v. GoodTimes Home Video Corp.,
160 F.3d 1223 (9th Cir. 1998) .................................................................................73

Beyene v. Coleman Security Services, Inc.,
854 F.2d 1179 (9th Cir. 1988) .................................................................................67

Burroughs v. Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, Inc.,
683 F.2d 610 (2d Cir. 1982) .....................................................................................58

Burroughs v. Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, Inc.,
491 F. Supp. 1320, 1322 (S.D.N.Y. 1980) ..............................................................58

Bustamante v. Intuit, Inc.,
141 Cal. App. 4th 199 (2006) ...................................................................... 15, 31-32

Callie v. Near,
829 F.2d 888 (9th Cir. 1987) ...................................................................................32

Celotex Corp. v. Catrett,
477 U.S. 317 (1986) .................................................................................................31

EXHIBIT 17
258
#:15725

vi
Chicot County Drainage Dist. v. Baxter State Bank,
308 U.S. 371 (1940) ........................................................................................... 44-45

Clarke v. Fiedler,
44 Cal. App. 2d 838 (1941) .....................................................................................32

Core-Vent Corp. v. Nobel Indus. AB,
11 F.3d 1482 (9th Cir.1993) ....................................................................................68

Curtiss-Wright Corp. v. General Electric Co.,
446 U.S. 1 (1980) .....................................................................................................68

Davis & Cox v. Summa Corp.,
751 F.2d 1507 (9th Cir. 1985) ........................................................................... 41-42

Devereaux v. Harper,
210 Cal. App. 2d 519 (1962) ............................................................................ 16-17

Dolman v. Agee,
157 F.3d 708, 712 (9th Cir. 1998) ...........................................................................46

Duran v. Duran,
150 Cal. App.3d 176 (1983) ....................................................................................27

Durkin v. Shea & Gould,
92 F.3d 1510 (9th Cir. 1996) ...................................................................................41

Effects Assocs. v. Cohen,
908 F.2d 555 (9th Cir. 1990) ...................................................................................30

Elite Show Servs. Inc. v. Staffpro, Inc.,
119 Cal. App. 4th 263 (2004) ..................................................................................26

Entertainment Research Group, Inc. v. Genesis Creative Group, Inc.,
122 F.3d 1211 (9th Cir. 1997) .................................................................................51

Epoch Producing Corp. v. Killiam Shows, Inc.,
522 F.2d 737 (2nd Cir. 1975) ...................................................................................59

EXHIBIT 17
259
#:15726

vii
1 Cal. App. 4th 613 (1991) ......................................................................................25

Estate of Burne Hogarth v. Edgar Rice Burroughs, Inc.,
342 F.3d 149 (2d Cir. 2003) ....................................................................... 48, passim

Estate of Thottam,
165 Cal. App. 4th 1331, (2008) ...............................................................................25

Goodworth Holdings Inc. v. Suh
99 Fed. Appx. 806 ....................................................................................................28

Hydranautics v. FilmTec Corp.,
204 F.3d 880 (9th Cir. 2000) ...................................................................................41

In Harris v. Rudin, Richman & Appel,
74 Cal. App. 4th 299 (1999) ....................................................................................25

In re Eliapo,
468 F.3d 592 (9th Cir. 2006) ...................................................................................28

In re Marshall,
600 F.3d 1037 (9th Cir. 2010) .................................................................................41

In re Pago Pago Air Crash,
637 F.2d 704 (9th Cir. 1981) ..................................................................................16

Industrial Indemnity v. Superior Court,
224 Cal. App. 3d 828 (1990) ...................................................................................26

Janes v. Wal-Mart Stores, Inc.,
279 F.3d 883 (9th Cir. 2002) ...................................................................................38

Jim Henson Productions v. John T. Brady & Associates,
16 F. Supp. 2d 259 (S.D.N.Y. 1997) .......................................................................65

Kamilche Co. v. United States,
53 F.3d 1059 (9th Cir. 1995) ....................................................................... 40-42, 45

EXHIBIT 17
260
#:15727

viii
Krasley v. Superior Court,
101 Cal. App. 3d 425 (1980) ............................................................................. 31-32

Landberg v. Landberg,
24 Cal. App. 3d 742 (1972) ............................................................................... 15-16

LIN Broadcasting Corp. v. Metromedia Inc.,
74 N.Y.2d 54 (1989) ......................................................................................... 48, 56

Louis Lesser Enterprises, Ltd. v. Roeder,
209 Cal. App. 2d 401 (1962) ...................................................................................17

Lowry v. Barnhart,
329 F.3d 1019 (9th Cir. 2003) .................................................................................33

Martha Graham School and Dance Foundation Inc. v. Martha Graham
Center of Contemporary Dance, Inc.
380 F.3d 624 (2d Cir. 2004) ......................................................................... 61, 63, 67

Meyer v. Benko,
55 Cal. App. 3d 937 (1976) .....................................................................................33

Montana v. U.S.,
440 U.S. 147 (1979) .................................................................................................40

Music Sales Corp. v. Morris,
73 F. Supp.2d 364 (S.D.N.Y. 1999) ........................................................................57

National Comics Publications, Inc. v. Fawcett Publications, Inc.,
191 F.2d 594 (2d Cir. 1951) .............................................................................. 12, 64

Norris v. Grosvenor Mktg. Ltd.,
803 F.2d 1281 (2d. Cir. 1986) ..................................................................................45

Novak v. Warner Bros Pictures, LLC,
387 Fed.Appx. 747 (9th Cir. 2010) ..........................................................................31

Owens v. Kaiser Found. Health Plan, Inc.,
244 F. 3d 708 (9th Cir. 2001) ..................................................................................41

EXHIBIT 17
261
#:15728

ix
Panagotacos v. Bank of America,
60 Cal App 4th 851 (1998) ................................................................................ 15-16

Patel v. Liebermensch,
45 Cal. 4th 344 (2008) .............................................................................................25

Paulo v. Holder,
669 F.3d 911 (9th Cir. 2011) ...................................................................................44

Picture Music v. Bourne, Inc.,
457 F.2d 1213 (2d Cir. 1972) ............................................................................. 60-61

Playboy Enters. v. Dumas,
53 F.3d 549 (2d Cir. 1995) .......................................................................... 43, 63, 67

Portsmouth Square Inc. v. Shareholders Protective Committee,
770 F.2d 866 (9th Cir. 1985) ...................................................................................71

Public Ledger v. N.Y. Times,
275 F. 562 (S.D.N.Y. 1921) .....................................................................................64

Radio TV Espanola S.A. v. New World Entertainment, Ltd.,
183 F.3d 922 (9th Cir. 1999) ...................................................................................28

Rael v. Davis,
166 Cal. App. 4th 1608 (2008) .......................................................................... 33-34

Reiter v. Cooper,
507 U.S. 258 (1993) .................................................................................................69

77 F.3d 309 (9th Cir. 1996) .....................................................................................27

Rice v. Fox Broad. Co.,
330 F.3d 1170 (9th Cir. 2003) .................................................................................51

Richlin v. Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Pictures, Inc.,
531 F.3d 962 (9th Cir. 2008) ...................................................................................52

EXHIBIT 17
262
#:15729

x
Roth v. Garcia Marquez,
942 F.2d 617 (9th Cir. 1991) ...................................................................................18

Roth v. Malson,
67 Cal. App. 4th 552, 559 (1998) ............................................................................15

S. Cal. Painters & Allied Trade Dist. Council No. 36 v. Best Interiors, Inc.
359 F.3d 1127 (9th Cir. 2004) .................................................................................32

Schrock v. Learning Curve Intl, Inc.,
586 F.3d 513 (7th Cir. 2009) ...................................................................................55

Self-Realization Fellowship Church v. Ananda Church of Self-Realization,
206 F.3d 1322 (9th Cir. 2000) .......................................................................... 46, 59

Siegel v. Natl Periodical Publications,
364 F. Supp. 909 (S.D.N.Y. 1973) .............................................................. 43, 46-47

Siegel v. Natl Periodical Publications,
508 F.2d 909 (2d Cir. 1974) ......................................................................... 2, passim

Siegel v. Time Warner Inc.,
496 F. Supp. 2d 1111 (C.D. Cal. 2007) ...................................................................55

Stewart v. Abend,
495 U.S. 207 (1990) .......................................................................................... 55, 60

Stewart v. U.S. Bancorp,
297 F.3d 953 (9th Cir. 2002) ...................................................................................40

Texaco, Inc. v. Ponsoldt,
939 F.2d 794 (9th Cir.1991) ....................................................................................68

The Facebook Inc. v. Pac. Nw. Software, Inc.,
640 F.3d 1034 (9th Cir. 2011) ........................................................................... 24-26

Tibbs v. Smart & Final Iris Co.,
152 Cal. App. 2d 618 (1957) ...................................................................................16

EXHIBIT 17
263
#:15730

xi
Twentieth Century Fox Film Corp. v. Entertainment Distributing,
429 F.3d 869 (9th Cir. 2005) ..................................................................... 40, passim

Valente-Kritzer Video v. Callan-Pickney,
881 F.2d 772, 775 (9th Cir. 1989) ..................................................................... 28-29

Warren v. Fox Family Worldwide, Inc.,
328 F.3d 1136 (9th Cir. 2003) .................................................................................61

Weddington Productions, Inc. v. Flick,
60 Cal. App. 4th 793 (1998) ....................................................................................15

Weinstein Co. v. Smokewood Entm't Group, LLC,
664 F. Supp. 2d 332 (S.D.N.Y. 2009) .....................................................................30

Westinghouse Elec. Corp. v. General Circuit Breaker & Elec. Supply, Inc.,
106 F.3d 894 (9th Cir. 1997) ...................................................................................45

Wolff v. Inst. of Elec. & Electronics Engineers, Inc.,
768 F. Supp. 66 (S.D.N.Y. 1991)............................................................................. 50

RULES

Fed. R. Civ. P. 54(b) .........................................................................................passim

F.R.A.P. 10(a) .......................................................................................................... 33

Ninth Circuit Rule 10-2............................................................................................ 33

STATUTES

17 U.S.C. 204(a) ........................................................................................... passim

17 U.S.C. 209 ........................................................................................................65

17 U.S.C. 304(c)(1) ...............................................................................................69

17 U.S.C. 304(c)(4) ............................................................................................. `69

17 U.S.C. 507(b) ...................................................................................................36
EXHIBIT 17
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#:15731

xii

28 U.S.C. 1291 ........................................................................................................ 1

Cal. Civil Code 998 ...............................................................................................26

Cal. Civ. Code 1585 ........................................................................................ 15-16

REGULATIONS

37 C.F.R. 201.10(b)(1)(iii) ....................................................................................69

37 C.F.R. 201.10(b) ...................................................................................... passim

OTHER AUTHORITIES

ARTHUR CORBIN, CORBIN ON CONTRACTS (2006)
3.36 ........................................................................................................................16

M. NIMMER & D. NIMMER, NIMMER ON COPYRIGHT (2011)
5.03[B][2][d] ................................................................................................... 59-60

6.03 ........................................................................................................................54

WILLIAM F. PATRY, PATRY ON COPYRIGHT (2007)
5:54 ................................................................................................................. 59, 67

5:61 .................................................................................................................. 60, 63

Oral Contracts In the Ent Industry,
1 Va. Sports & Ent. L.J. 101 (2001) ................................................................. 28, 30

Resolving Disputes over Oral and Unsigned Film Agreements,
L.A. Law. 18 (Apr. 1999) ................................................................................. 28, 30

EXHIBIT 17
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#:15732

1
COUNTER-STATEMENT OF JURISDICTION
This court has jurisdiction over the F.R.C.P. 54(b) judgment on Plaintiff
Laura Siegel Larsons First Claim, and Defendant DC Comics First through
Fourth Counterclaims. 28 U.S.C. 1291.
INTRODUCTION
The opposition and cross-appeal brief (Docket No. 31-1; Opp.) of DC
Comics (including its predecessors, DC) and its parent, Warner Bros.
Entertainment Inc. (including DC, Warner) does little to address the real legal
issues in this case. Instead, Warner uses catchphrases divorced from the law,
erroneous arguments never made below, ad hominem attacks on opposing counsel,
and extra-record materials to evade plaintiff Laura Siegel Larsons (Plaintiff)
statutory notices of termination regarding Superman (Termination).
Touting a deal is a deal and Hollywood custom and practice, Warner
pretends it entered into a binding contract with Plaintiff in October 2001, when
nothing could be further from the truth. In the three years before Plaintiff filed this
action in 2004 to enforce her Termination, Warner never once claimed such a
contract existed, and for good reason. The parties objective written exchange of
counteroffers with many different material terms, amply demonstrate that no
contract was formed. As the District Court correctly held, there is no document
or set of documents reflecting agreement by the parties to singular, agreed terms.
EXHIBIT 17
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#:15733

2
ER 202.
1

Warners arguments as to the other issues fare no better. As to its purported
statute of limitations defense, Warner argues, for the first time, a trigger date in
May 2002, contradicting both its position below and the explicit terms of the
parties tolling agreement.
As to its erroneous argument that Siegel and Shusters conversion of their
Superman story to a magazine format in Action Comics, No. 1 was work-for-
hire, Warner pretends that the Second Circuits decision in Siegel v. Natl
Periodical Publications, 508 F.2d 909, 914 (2d Cir. 1974) from which it has
greatly benefited for four decades is no longer preclusive.
Nor does Warner do anything to meaningfully counter Plaintiffs focused
arguments in her opening brief (Docket No. 12; App.) that the Superman
newspaper strips, Action Comics, Nos. 2-56 and Superman, Nos. 1-6, were not
work-for-hire. For pre-January 1, 1978 works, this sole exception to statutory
termination is governed by the instance and expense test. Expense requires the
publisher to assume upfront the expense and thus, the financial risk of a works
creation, which DC chose not to do. Instance requires that the publisher has the
legal right to supervise and control the process and elements of creation, which DC

1
ER refers to Plaintiffs excerpts of record, served on December 22, 2011;
SER refers to Warners supplemental excerpts of record, served on March 23,
2012; RER refers to Plaintiffs reply excerpts of record, served concurrently.
EXHIBIT 17
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#:15734

3
lacked. Accordingly, Warner failed to meet its burden on summary judgment of
demonstrating instance and expense by credible, admissible evidence.
On appeal, Warner sidesteps this governing test and spuriously argues that
DCs ownership of underlying Superman rights renders every derivative work
for-hire, contrary to the Copyright Act and clear precedent. Warner also revises
history to assert that Superman material produced in 1938-43 by Siegel and
Shusters independent Cleveland operation was work-for-hire, when DCs
agreements said no such thing and independent contractors were not held to
produce work-for-hire until the mid-1960s.
As Warner cannot meet its evidentiary burden, it freely distorts the record
with misleading statements and fabrications in the hope this Court will not catch
them e.g., falsely pretending that Jerry Siegels extra-record memoir supports
their position.
In further desperation, Warner resorts to baseless irrelevant attacks on
Plaintiffs counsel to elicit prejudice and distract from the merits. Warners
concocted tortious interference allegations, repeated here, were not before the
District Court; are the subject of a different lawsuit (DC Comics v. Pacific Pictures
Corp., et al., C.D. Cal. Case No. 10-CV-03633 ODW (RZx)) still to be
adjudicated; and are addressed in Plaintiffs pending Anti-SLAPP appeal. 9th Cir.
Case No. 11-71844. In willful violation of established appellate procedures,
EXHIBIT 17
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#:15735

4
Warner lards its excerpts of record with scores of documents that were also not
before the District Court.
This Court should firmly reject Warners meritless attempts to undermine
and evade Plaintiffs statutory rights, affirm the District Courts judgment on
Warners cross-appeal, and reverse the District Courts judgment and remand for
further proceedings on Plaintiffs appeal.
ISSUES PRESENTED ON CROSS-APPEAL
1. Did the District Court correctly find, based on the undisputed
documentary evidence, that no contract was formed when the parties exchanged
counteroffers with numerous differences in material terms, and there was no signed
written agreement, as contemplated by the parties and required by 17 U.S.C.
204(a)?
2. Did the District Court correctly find that Plaintiffs claims were timely
due to an explicit written tolling agreement between the parties?
3. Did the District Court correctly find that Action Comics, No. 1 was not
a work-for-hire, where Warners arguments were variations on those made by it
and rejected by the Second Circuit in prior litigation, and Warner, in any event, has
not met its evidentiary burden?
4. Did the District Court correctly find that portions of Action Comics,
No. 4 and Superman, No. 1, based on Siegels pre-existing material, before any
EXHIBIT 17
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#:15736

5
relationship with DC, were not work-for-hire?
5. Did the District Court correctly find as to the first two weeks of
Superman newspaper strips that: (a) they were not work-for-hire because they
were created on a purely speculative basis; and (b) their inadvertent omission from
Plaintiffs notices of termination was harmless error under 37 C.F.R.
201.10(e)(1), because Plaintiffs intent to terminate the strips was clear?
6. Did the District Court correctly enter a Rule 54(b) judgment on
Plaintiffs First Claim and Warners First Counterclaim, where such claims
focused on the validity of Plaintiffs Termination and were fully adjudicated by the
District Court?
STATEMENT OF FACTS ON CROSS-APPEAL
The facts set forth below concern parts of Warners cross-appeal. The facts
relevant to Plaintiffs appeal and work-for-hire issues are set forth in her opening
brief.
A. Settlement Negotiations Between The Siegels And DC
On April 3, 1997, the widow (Joanne Siegel) and daughter (Laura Siegel
Larson) of Jerry Siegel (the Siegels), exercised their rights under 17 U.S.C.
304(c) by serving on DC/Warner and filing with the Copyright Office seven
notices of termination of Jerry Siegels Superman copyright grants. ER 1023-
1092.
EXHIBIT 17
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#:15737

6
Laura/Joanne Siegel and DC/Warner thereafter engaged in settlement
negotiations. ER 161. On April 15, 1999, the day before the Siegel Termination
was to take effect, DC contested its validity and scope. SER 390. Thereafter,
the Siegels hired attorney Kevin Marks (Marks), and signed an explicit Tolling
Agreement with DC as to any time-based defenses to contemplated litigation (the
Tolling Agreement). SER 348-351.
The parties continued settlement negotiations in 2000-2001, conducted on
DCs behalf by Warners then-general counsel, John Schulman (Schulman).
SER 456-528. The negotiations were complex, spanning a range of terms
including copyright assignments, intricate studio definitions/calculations of multi-
tiered royalties for different media, warranties and indemnifications. Id.
Negotiations progressed in a telephone conference on October 16, 2001 between
Schulman and Marks. SER 536:12. On October 19, 2001, Marks sent Schulman a
six-page letter outlining the substance of what he believed was Warners settlement
offer in the October 16, 2001 conference. SER 456-461. On October 26, 2001,
DC responded with a materially different outline and counter-offer that
contemplated further explication in a formal written agreement. SER 463-470.
Months later, on February 1, 2002, DC sent the Siegels a 56-page settlement
proposal with many more new and changed material terms, not in Marks October
19, 2001 offer or DCs October 26, 2001 counter-offer. SER 472-528.
EXHIBIT 17
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#:15738

7
On May 9, 2002, Joanne Siegel sent a letter to Richard Parsons, President of
AOL Time Warner, Inc., stating we were stabbed in the back . [y]our
companys unconscionable contract dated February [1], 2002 contained new,
outrageous demands that were not in the proposal. After four years we have no
deal and this contract makes an agreement impossible. SER 412-414.
2
Parsons
wrote back on May 21, 2002, stating that we expected that you and your
representatives would have comments and questions on the draft, which comments
and questions we would need to resolve and we continue to hope this agreement
can be closed. SER 416.
Aware of the Siegels extreme dissatisfaction with the new and
inconsistent material terms, Marks began drafting a new proposal, which he
never sent to DC. SER 418; RER 39:21-40:15. Nor did DC ever attempt to agree
to Marks October 19, 2001 proposal, or to modify or retract DCs October 26,
2001 or February 1, 2002 counter-proposals.
On September 21, 2002, the Siegels sent a letter to Marks, with a copy to
DCs Paul Levitz, terminating Marks and providing notification that we are

2
Warners unsupported allegations that its settlement proposal generously
guaranteed the Siegels tens of millions (Opp. 3, 4, 7) is both irrelevant to
contract formation and false. Warners February 2002 Draft is rife with
Hollywood accounting tricks for which studios in general, and Warner in
particular, are notorious. SER 472- 523; Ladd v. Warner Bros. Entmt, Inc., 184
Cal. App. 4th 1298, 1300 (2010). Warner would not be trying to force on Plaintiff,
and Plaintiff would never have rejected, such a lucrative settlement. SER 412-414.
EXHIBIT 17
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#:15739

8
totally stopping and ending all negotiations with DC. SER 418; see Siegel I, 542
F. Supp. 2d at 1136. As this letter arguably did not comply with the express terms
of the Tolling Agreement, the Siegels sent a further letter on October 28, 2002 that
complied with such terms. SER 349-50 7; RER 96-97 (October 28 2002 Letter).
3

SUMMARY OF ARGUMENT
I. No agreement was reached between the Siegels and DC as a matter of
law. The parties correspondence shows that Kevin Marks October 19, 2001
letter, John Schulmans October 26 letter, and Warners February 1, 2002 draft all
had sharply varying material terms, and hence under clear California law were
counteroffers, not acceptances, that terminated the preceding offer. Neither the
basic scope of the agreement as to copyrights to be assigned, the complex royalties
to be paid, the parties warranties and indemnifications, nor numerous other
material terms were ever agreed-upon, as shown by this objective documented
exchange. Furthermore, the parties clearly contemplated, and the Copyright Act
required, a formal written agreement, executed by both parties, which never
happened due to their disagreements over material terms. Against this, Warner

3
Warners gratuitous recitation of an August 2002 offer by Ari Emanuel (Opp. 18-
19) and citation to extraneous materials, not part of the District Court record, is
irrelevant to the legal issue of whether the parties formed a contract in October
2001. Warners improper inclusion in its Excerpts of Record of 166 pages of extra-
record material, and raising of prejudicial, irrelevant new arguments on appeal, are
addressed more fully in Plaintiffs motion to strike, and in the appellants opening
brief in DC Comics v. Pacific Pictures Corp., 9th Cir. Case No. 11-71844.
EXHIBIT 17
273
#:15740

9
cites inapposite cases where a written instrument signed by both parties was found
to be enforceable, and pleads for the first time that established contract law should
not apply to the entertainment industry. The District Court, applying well-settled
California law to the parties undisputed evidence, properly found that no
agreement had been reached.
II. The District Court also correctly held that the Siegels claims were
timely filed due to the parties written Tolling Agreement. On appeal, DC
abandons all of its prior arguments, and frivolously argues for the first time that the
May 9, 2002 letter from Joanne Siegel to AOL Time Warners President,
complaining about Warners February 2002 draft, somehow cancelled the Tolling
Agreement. But the Tolling Agreement expressly required specific, formal notice
of cancellation by certified mail to both DCs general counsel and outside counsel,
and the May 9, 2002 letter did none of this. The District Court correctly found that
notice of cancellation was not given to DC until September 21, 2002 at the earliest,
and Warner concedes that in such event this action would be timely. In fact, notice
of cancellation, as explicitly defined in the Tolling Agreement, was not given until
October 28, 2002.
III. The District Court correctly found that no part of Siegel and Shusters
Superman story, as published in Action Comics, No. 1 (Action Comics, No. 1),
was work-for-hire. The Second Circuits decision in Siegel v. Natl Periodical
EXHIBIT 17
274
#:15741

10
Publications, 508 F.2d 909, 914 (2d Cir. 1974), which specifically rejected
Warners work-for-hire arguments (based on Siegel and Shusters conversion of
their strip to a magazine format) bars Warner under preclusion doctrines.
Notwithstanding this, Warner has presented no evidence that DC made the
contributions it alleges (e.g., choice of colors) or that Siegel and Shusters
reformatting revisions were work-for-hire. Moreover, the alleged items, when
compared to Siegel and Shusters pre-existing illustrated story contain minimal, if
any, protectable new elements. Finally, even if work-for-hire and marginally
protectable, these limited revisions would not transform DC into a co-author of
Siegel and Shusters celebrated Superman story, per established precedent.
IV. The District Court correctly found that parts of Action Comics, No. 4,
and Superman, No. 1 were not work-for-hire and were successfully terminated,
because they had been fully developed by Siegel on spec prior to any
involvement by DC, and hence were not DCs work-for-hire.
V. The District Court correctly found that the first two weeks of
Superman newspaper strips were not work-for-hire. The strips were also
created on spec by Siegel and Shuster who, on their own initiative, pitched these
sample strips to several newspaper syndicators. The inadvertent omission of these
strips from the hundreds of Superman newspaper strips from the same period listed
in the Siegels Termination notices was correctly held to be harmless error under
EXHIBIT 17
275
#:15742

11
37 C.F.R. 201.10. DC had clear notice of the Siegels intent to terminate all
Superman works subject to termination, as this was both stated in and otherwise
evident from their Termination notices.
VI. As set forth in Plaintiffs opening brief, the District Court erred in
finding that Action Comics, Nos. 2-3, 5-6, Superman, Nos. 1-23, and Action
Comics, Nos. 7-56 were works-for-hire. The works were done without any
guaranteed financial compensation, negating expense, and Warners own
evidence amply demonstrates that DC lacked any legal right to supervise and
control Siegel and Shusters creative process, negating instance.
As to the remaining 1938-43 Superman newspaper strips, the District
Court held on summary judgment that these strips were on the outer edges of the
work-for-hire doctrine (ER 103), even though DC had failed to meet its burden of
proving that the strips were created at DCs instance and expense. The strips
were not created at DCs instance, as Siegel and Shuster, not DC, were the
motivating factor in their creation and syndication; nor at DCs expense, because
Siegel and Shuster paid all expenses of creating the strips, were solely entitled to a
contingent royalty, and thus assumed the costs and financial risks of creation.
The District Court also erred in ignoring other significant evidence that the
strips were not work-for-hire including: (i) the McClure Syndicates
presumptively correct copyright registrations listing Siegel and Shuster as authors
EXHIBIT 17
276
#:15743

12
of the strips; (ii) the September 22, 1938 joint venture agreement between
McClure, Siegel and Shuster, and DC (the McClure Agreement) in which Siegel
and Shuster were to receive a very large share of the profits, and DC a minor share;
(iii) National Comics Publications, Inc. v. Fawcett Publications, Inc. (National
Comics), 191 F.2d 594 (2d Cir. 1951), which held that McClure, the syndicator,
was the assignee or proprietor of the strips, not the author; and (iv) McClures
subsequent written assignment of the strips to DC.
VII. The District Courts Rule 54(b) judgment was proper. Plaintiffs First
Claim, and Warners First through Fourth Counterclaims, required only that the
District Court decide whether the Termination was valid and which Superman
works were subject to termination as non-work-for-hire. The District Court fully
adjudicated the First Claim and Warners purported defenses in three voluminous
published opinions. Warner erroneously argues that the Rule 54(b) judgment is
improper, because the District Court did not fully adjudicate the literary elements
present in each terminated work. But such issues only pertain, if at all, to
Plaintiffs Second through Fourth Claims, concerning Warners accounting
obligations, and are excluded from the Rule 54(b) judgment. For this reason, DCs
Ads argument is also a red herring. Even were this Court inclined to consider
the Ads, the District Court correctly determined that the Ads contained no original
Superman content. Lastly, Warner did not contest the Rule 54(b) judgment as to
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its Second through Fourth Counterclaims, conferring jurisdiction in any event.
ARGUMENT
I. NO AGREEMENT WAS REACHED BY THE PARTIES
In 2004, after the Siegels filed suit for a declaration that they had
successfully recaptured Siegels original Superman and Superboy copyrights,
Warner contended for the first time that they had reached a binding agreement with
the Siegels in October 2001. ER 298-301.
Three key documents conclusively demonstrate that no agreement was
consummated: (1) an October 19, 2001 letter (SER 456-61; the October 19
Letter) from the Siegels then-counsel, Kevin Marks to Warners general counsel,
John Schulman, containing one set of terms; (2) an October 26, 2001 reply from
Schulman to Marks, containing a more fulsome outline of materially different
deal terms (SER 463-70; the October 26 Letter) to be fleshed out in a draft
agreement; and (3) Warners proposed February 1, 2002 draft agreement (SER
472-528; the February 2002 Draft).
The fundamental differences between these counteroffers included the
properties at issue (Superman, Superboy and Spectre in Marks draft; nearly
everything Siegel ever wrote in Warners), the classification and calculation of
royalties, warranties/indemnifications of/by the Siegels, and many other material
differences. RER 140-49.
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As the District Court aptly held, [o]ne need only review the language of the
parties correspondence, their conduct in reaction thereto, and the numerous
material differences between the terms relayed in the October 19 and 26, 2001
letters and the February 2002, 2002 draft to reach the conclusion that the parties
failed to come to an agreement on all material terms. ER 202.
On appeal Warner advances erroneous arguments that: (i) the October 19
Letter, which Warner did not accept, still settled the matter; and (ii) despite the
many material differences between the counteroffers, there are supposedly no
differences in essential terms. For all of this, Warner relies on inapposite cases
which simply find that clear agreements, signed by both parties, are enforceable.
A. The October 19 Letter Was A Counter-Offer That Warner Never
Accepted
1. Contract Formation Requires An Objectively Manifested
Agreement To The Same Material Terms
The glaring differences, set forth below, between the parties respective
write-ups (Marks October 19 Letter and Schulmans October 26 Letter), made
within a week after the parties thought they had arrived at terms, demonstrate that
the parties had not reached agreement. This divergence becomes even clearer with
Warners February 2002 Draft, elaborating upon its October 26 Letter.
Contract formation requires that the parties agree upon the same thing in
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the same sense. Cal. Civ. Code 1580. If there is no evidence establishing a
manifestation of assent to the same thing by both parties, then there is no mutual
consent to contract and no contract formation. Weddington Productions, Inc. v.
Flick, 60 Cal. App. 4th 793, 811 (1998).
[I]f the material facts are certain or undisputed, the existence of a contract
is a question for the court to decide. Bustamante v. Intuit, Inc., 141 Cal. App. 4th
199, 208 (2006). See Roth v. Malson, 67 Cal. App. 4th 552, 559 (1998) (affirming
summary judgment that no contract was formed because counteroffer was not
accepted).
2. There Was No Accepted Offer, Merely An Exchange Of
Unaccepted Counteroffers
It is black-letter law that the terms proposed in an offer must be met
exactly, precisely, and unequivocally for its acceptance to result in the formation of
a binding contract. Panagotacos v. Bank of America, 60 Cal App 4th 851, 855-
856 (1998) (citing Apablasa v. Merritt & Co., 176 Cal. App. 2d 719, 726 (1959)).
[A] qualified acceptance amounts to a new proposal or counteroffer
putting an end to the original offer (id.), and that new proposal or counteroffer
[] must be accepted by the former offeror now turned offeree before a binding
contract results. Landberg v. Landberg, 24 Cal. App. 3d 742, 750 (1972); see
Cal. Civ. Code 1585 (An acceptance must be absolute. A qualified
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16
acceptance is a new proposal.). If the acceptance contains conditions not
embraced in the offer or adds new terms, there is no meeting of the minds and no
acceptance. In re Pago Pago Air Crash, 637 F.2d 704, 706 (9th Cir. 1981).
Thus, a counteroffer terminates the original offer and the power to accept the
original offer. See Panagotacos, 60 Cal App 4th at 855-856; 1-3 Corbin on
Contracts 3.36 (2006).
Here, it is crystal-clear from the objective exchange of counteroffers that
each contained material terms not accepted by the other party.
Marks October 19 Letter, though styled as an acceptance of Schulmans
oral offer of October 16, 2001, was actually a counteroffer because, according
to Schulman and his October 26 more fulsome outline, something very different
was discussed on October 16. SER 456-461; 463-470. See Tibbs v. Smart & Final
Iris Co., 152 Cal. App. 2d 618, 618, 623 (1957) (affirming summary judgment
where there is no enforceable written contract despite a letter purporting to
accept[] said offer).
Schulmans October 26 Letter, which purported to outline Warners October
16 offer, contained materially different terms (more favorable to Warner) than
those in Marks purported October 19 acceptance, putting an end to Marks
counter-offer. Apablasa, 176 Cal. App. 2d at 726. See ER 201; Devereaux v.
Harper, 210 Cal. App. 2d 519, 524-525 (1962) (no contract where one person
EXHIBIT 17
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17
offers to do a definite thing and another introduces a new term into the
acceptance); Louis Lesser Enterprises, Ltd. v. Roeder, 209 Cal. App. 2d 401, 407
(1962) (no binding agreement where letters contain substantial changes in the
proposed terms that indicate the initial letter was never intended to be the final
memorial of the agreement of the parties).
The February 2002 Draft, contemplated by Schulmans October 26 outline,
elaborated upon it with even more new or revised material terms, further showing
that no agreement had been reached. SER 472-528.
B. The Numerous Material Differences Between The Proposals
Demonstrate That No Agreement Was Consummated
1. Material Differences As To Scope Of The Agreement
Warner concedes that the scope of the rights assigned is an essential term.
Opp. 29. But Warner fails to address the blatant differences: Marks October 19
Letter was specifically limited to Superman, Superboy and related properties
and the Spectre property. SER 456. Schulmans October 26 Letter was far
broader, and included all rights in (1) anything related to Superman, Superboy,
Spectre and related properties even if not created for DC Comics, and (2)
anything arising out of Siegels authorship and/or contributions for DC Comics
(whether or not published), and whether or not related to Superman, Superboy or
the Spectre. SER 456, 464, 533-4, 541-42.
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18
Warners counteroffers thus significantly broadened the scope of properties
to be assigned, which alone is sufficient to defeat Warners claim that a binding
contract was formed. See Roth v. Garcia Marquez, 942 F.2d 617, 626-627 (9th
Cir. 1991) (no contract where long-form document unsigned due to dispute over
scope of rights to be transferred).
2. Material Differences As To Monetary Terms
Warner also concedes that the royalty terms are essential (Opp. 29), but
fails to address the substantial differences.
Recoupment: Under the October 19 and October 26 counteroffers, Warner
would advance $500,000/year, recoupable against the Siegels royalties. Under
Marks October 19 proposal, those advances would never accumulate interest if
unrecouped (i.e., if advances exceeded royalties); under Warners proposals, all
advances were non-interest bearing for year in which paid; then interest at 100%
of prime on unrecouped amounts after 12/31 of year of payment. SER 458, 467.
Media Royalties: Marks October 19 Letter proposed a royalty of 6% of
DCs gross revenues derived from the use of the property in any and all media,
in and on merchandise and in promotional campaigns. SER 457.
Schulmans October 26 Letter proposed 6% of DCs receipts from all
Media licenses for use of the Properties (compare SER 457 and SER 467),
without providing the definition of Media licenses. Revenues from sources other
EXHIBIT 17
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19
than Media licenses (e.g., from direct sales or assignment by DC to third-parties
as opposed to licenses) are thus excluded.
So, while the October 19 and October 26 letters both use 6%, the 6%
applies to different things.
The February 2002 Draft deviated further, limiting the 6% royalty to
amounts actually received by DC in United States Dollars from licensing,
and excluding any sums received by DC Comics for providing any services or
materials in connection with the licensing. SER 481, 545:17-546:13. The draft
further reduced the applicable revenue stream by excluding cash advances paid to
DC (against its royalties), unless such monies were or became non-returnable.
SER 481.
Marks October 19 Letter envisioned a 6% royalty from any and all media
and merchandising uses of Superman, subject to reduction (a) to 3% on a pro
rata basis when the property is used in conjunction with other book characters,
(b) to 1.5% in three instances: Justice League of America, Superfriends and
Superheroes, and (c) to 1% in extraordinary cases such as [Warners] license
to Six Flags. SER 457 5, 536:4-537:5.
In contrast, Schulmans October 26 counteroffer, and subsequent February
2002 Draft, reduced the 6% (a) to 3% for licenses which commingle the
Properties with another DC property similar in stature and used in a like manner,
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and (b) to 1.5% for licenses which commingle the Properties with multiple other
DC properties and where the Properties are neither the predominant creative
element nor the sole predominant identity or title of the Media product in question
(e.g., Justice League, Superfriends, Superheroes). SER 467, 495. This
transformed a limited reduction in three instances (i.e.), into a general principle
(e.g.).
Merchandising Royalties: There were also material differences as to
merchandising royalties an extremely significant source of revenue.
As with Media Royalties, Marks and Schulmans proposals differed in
their 6%/3%/1.5% categorizations.
Furthermore, Marks October 19 letter limited the 1% category to
extraordinary cases, with the Six Flags license as an example. SER 457 5.
Schulmans October 26 counteroffer added an entirely new category with respect
to licenses . [for] a number of DC properties as well as the Properties, DC shall
allocate the income from the license based on the actual sales of individual
products based on information reasonably available from the licensees, but to the
extent such information is not available, the 6% shall be reducible to not less than
1% meaning that the category was not limited to extraordinary cases, and the
floor could be under 1% (based on purported licensee information). SER 467.
The February 2002 Draft added further new terms, including no payments
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for the use of Superman in advertising and that only 10% of Revenue, less costs,
and subject to pro rata allocations from merchandise actually produced by DC
would be included. SER 496-97, 499-500. This contrasted sharply with Marks
October 19 Letter, which stated that the 6% would apply to promotional
campaigns and did not restrict revenue from merchandising. SER 457.
Publishing Royalties: The parties also never reached agreement on the
royalty applicable to Supermans exploitation in DCs non-Superman
publications. The October 19 Letter provided a baseline royalty of 1% of the
cover price, with a pro rata adjustment for non-cameo appearances, to a floor
of .5%. SER 457-58 6. Warners October 26 Letter stated that there will be no
royalties payable hereunder when the Properties appear in publications or stories
based on other properties and the Properties do not appear in the title of the
publication or feature in question. SER 468 25.
The February 2002 Draft expanded upon Warners new floor of no royalties
whatsoever where Superman did not appear in the title of the publication or
feature. SER 499. The February 2002 Draft further added that no royalties would
be paid on units returned, damaged, lost, distributed by DC as premiums or
promotions and/or distributed to uncollectible accounts or sold at discounts of
excess of seventy percent off of cover price. SER 481.
Thus, under Marks October 19 proposal, the Siegels would have been paid
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22
for nearly all appearances of Superman. Under Warners October 26 and February
2002 counteroffers, there were numerous new exclusions and reductions of the
royalty rate and the revenues to which it would apply (e.g., no revenues even if
Superman appears for months as a main character in a Green Arrow comic).
3. Other Material Differences
Other material differences concerned, inter alia, warranties, indemnification,
arbitration, audit rights, and credits. RER 140-49 (chart detailing differences
between the proposals).
As to warranties and representations, the October 19 Letter stated that the
Siegel Family would not make any warranties as to the nature of rights, but would
[only] represent that they have not transferred the rights to any party. SER 460
13 (emphasis added). Schulmans October 26 Letter stated the Siegels warrant
and represent no termination nor any other rights remaining except for rights under
this agreement, and no contract of any kind with any other party with respect to
or related to the Properties, and not to interfere with or diminish DC/WB
enjoyment of exclusive ownership, control, and use. SER 464. Such broader
warranties result in significant potential liability. SER 534:6-10.
As to indemnification, the October 19 Letter stated only: Full E&O and
general liability coverages and full indemnities for Joanne Siegel, Laura Siegel
Larson, and Michael Siegel against liability for DC or affiliate actions all to
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their benefit. SER 460 14. Schulmans October 26 Letter specifically added that
the Siegels defend and indemnify re third party claims, Siegels defend and
indemnify re Dennis [Lauras ex-husband] claims, and Widow and daughter
[Joanne and Laura] indemnify re Michael Siegel for all expenses, costs, any
reasonable settlement or get Michael Siegel to Sign. SER 470; see also SER 517-
18. In essence, Warner turned the October 19 Letters indemnification from
Warner to the Siegels into significant obligations of the Siegels to indemnify
Warner.
Furthermore, Marks October 19 Letter provided only for mutual non-
disparagement. SER 460 13. Schulmans October 26 counteroffer required the
Siegels to positively publicize the Properties, including travel for public
appearances, and to consult with DC prior to any personal appearances, written
statements, interviews or other activities. SER 464,535:19-536:3 (Marks: [T]hat
was a problem because we were dealing with a woman of advanced years and a
woman who was ill, and travel on them could be a burden. I wouldnt have
wanted there to be any dispute that they were not fulfilling an obligation and
that being the basis for claiming breach and withholding royalty payments and
the like.).
The parties also diverged as to the credits to be accorded Jerome Siegel.
Compare SER 459 4 ER (October 19 Letter: credit to be given in paid ads
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24
concerning the Properties) with SER 469 ER (October 26 Letter: no credit in paid
ads); see SER 539:12-17 (Marks: [C]redit in paid ads is something thats very
important to clients. They want to see the credit in the full-page ads in newspapers
and posters, movie theaters and the like, and Johns letter provided for credit on
screen only and not in paid ads.).
Just as Schulman couched his October 26 counteroffer as a more fulsome
outline, Warner dismisses vast differences in the February 2002 Draft as simply
the product of it being a long-form or more detailed. Opp. 32. Warners
subjective characterizations do nothing to change the objective manifestations of
the parties intent in their competing written counteroffers, nor the numerous
material differences between them. ER 201 (Defendants seek to create issues
of fact through post hoc testimony and rationalizations. None of this subjective
belief is sufficient to defeat the objective manifestation of the parties intent
relayed in the documents ....).
C. Warners Cases On This Issue Are Manifestly Inapposite As They
Concern The Enforceability Of Signed Agreements
To evade this clear lack of an agreement, Warner cites to cases that stand for
the unremarkable proposition that a written agreement, signed by the parties, is an
enforceable contract if sufficiently definite.
Warner relies primarily on The Facebook Inc. v. Pac. Nw. Software, Inc.,
EXHIBIT 17
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25
640 F.3d 1034 (9th Cir. 2011) (Facebook) (Opp. 26-27), which is inapposite as it
concerned an agreement signed by both parties. Furthermore, [t]he parties
stipulated that the Settlement Agreement was binding, and may be submitted
[to a court] to enforce [it]. Id. at 1037. The question was whether the signed
document had sufficiently definite material terms to be enforceable. Id. As the
material terms were a lump-sum payment and a specified amount of stock, this
Court unsurprisingly found the executed agreement binding and enforceable. Id.
Facebook is similar to In Harris v. Rudin, Richman & Appel, 74 Cal. App.
4th 299, 307 (1999), also relied upon by Warner (Opp. 26), which upheld an
agreement to pay $250,000 in exchange for a general release, executed by all
parties, under a signature block stating [a]ccepted and agreed.
Warners other cases similarly involve a signed instrument demonstrating
the parties intent to be bound. See Estate of Thottam, 165 Cal. App. 4th 1331,
1340-41 (2008) (parties agreed by initial and by signature and the terms are
sufficiently clear to determine obligations to which the parties agreed); Ersa
Grae Corp. v. Fluor Corp., 1 Cal. App. 4th 613, 624 (1991) (enforcing signed
agreement where agreed-upon material terms were undisputed); Patel v.
Liebermensch, 45 Cal. 4th 344, 346 (2008) (signed contract enforceable, though it
did not specify the time and manner of payment because a reasonable time is
allowed).
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26
Warner also relies on Elite Show Servs. Inc. v. Staffpro, Inc., 119 Cal. App.
4th 263, 268-69 (2004), which did not concern contract formation, but simply
found that a Cal. Civil Code 998 litigation settlement offer (entitling one to fees
and costs) was sufficiently definite.
If Marks October 19 proposal contained signature lines executed by the
parties, then Facebook and the other cases Warner cites might be applicable to
whether the terms were sufficiently definite to be enforceable. That obviously did
not happen. Instead, the parties counteroffers demonstrate disagreement as to
material terms preventing the formation of a contract.
Nor is it this Courts responsibility to relieve Warner from its failure to
respond to Marks October 19 Letter with an unqualified acceptance. As the
District Court correctly noted, there is no document or set of documents reflecting
agreement by the parties to singular, agreed terms. ER 202. And where the
parties have not agreed upon terms, courts will not write a new contract for
them. Industrial Indemnity v. Superior Court, 224 Cal. App. 3d 828, 832 (1990).
D. A Final Written Agreement Signed By The Parties Was Required
It is equally clear from the parties words and conduct that, given the
importance and complexity of the subject matter and deal points, any agreement
was subject to documentation and would need to be reduced to a mutually-
acceptable written contract. ER 463 (Were working on the draft agreement),
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27
SER 472. See Rennick v. O.P.T.I.O.N. Care, Inc., 77 F.3d 309, 316 (9th Cir. 1996)
(affirming summary judgment; no contract as a matter of law where the parties
intended not to be bound unless and until a subsequent agreement was made).
[W]hen it is a part of the understanding between the parties that the terms
of their contract are to be reduced to writing and signed by the parties, the assent to
its terms must be evidenced in the manner agreed upon or it does not become a
binding or completed contract. Duran v. Duran, 150 Cal. App.3d 176, 180 (1983)
(citations omitted). See Banner Entmt Inc. v. Superior Court (Alchemy Filmworks
Inc.), 62 Cal. App. 4th 348, 358 (1998) (When it is clear that both parties
contemplated that acceptance of the contracts terms would be signified by signing
it, the failure to sign the agreement means no binding contract was created.)
(citation omitted).
Moreover, as any such agreement would involve an assignment of the
Siegels recaptured copyright interests, a written contract was required as a matter
of law. 17 U.S.C. 204(a) (A transfer of copyright ownership, other than by
operation of law, is not valid unless an instrument of conveyance, or a note or
memorandum of the transfer, is in writing and signed by the owner of the rights
conveyed or such owners duly authorized agent.).
4

4
On appeal Warner argues for the first time that a purported handshake is
sufficient and relies on principles essential to the entertainment industry, where
many business deals are never formalized (Opp. 3, 28-29), and on secondary
EXHIBIT 17
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28
Marks October 19 Letter cannot possibly qualify as the required writing.
While [n]o magic words must be included in a document to satisfy 204(a) .
the parties intent as evidenced by the writing must demonstrate a transfer of the
copyright. Radio TV Espanola S.A. v. New World Entertainment, Ltd., 183 F.3d
922, 927 (9th Cir. 1999) (emphasis added). The October 19 Letter is not a
transfer of the Siegels copyrights to Warner; rather, it contemplates that the
Siegels would [make such] transfer in a final executed agreement. SER 458.
Here, a signed written agreement assigning the Siegels copyrights was both
contemplated by the parties and required, but never approved and executed. See
Goodworth Holdings Inc. v. Suh 239 F. Supp.2d 947, 958 (N.D. Cal. 2002)
(granting summary judgment where parties had a lot of conversations about
putting a deal together, but when it finally came down to determining material
terms in order to put them into writing, both parties walked away).
E. The Clear Reservations Demonstrate That No Contract Was
Formed
In Valente-Kritzer Video v. Callan-Pickney, 881 F.2d 772, 775 (9th Cir.

sources that nonetheless flag 204(a)s writing requirement, both placing it at
issue. Opp. 28; Oral Contracts In the Ent Industry (Oral Contracts), 1 Va.
Sports & Ent. L.J. 101, at 108-109), Resolving Disputes over Oral and Unsigned
Film Agreements (Resolving Disputes), L.A. Law. 18 (Apr. 1999) at 20.
Furthermore, as this issue is one of law and the [factual] record has been fully
developed, it can properly be raised on appeal. In re Eliapo, 468 F.3d 592, 603
(9th Cir. 2006). Plaintiff also addressed 204(a)s writing requirement on
summary judgment (RER 100), albeit on another point.
EXHIBIT 17
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29
1989), an attorney for one party sent a draft agreement accompanied by a letter that
stated in part Thank you for your cooperation and congratulations on landing the
deal and Please call if you have problems. This Court found that that there was
no binding contract, despite the attorneys repeated references to the deal,
because the correspondence contained reservations, including the right to comment
and a request for the other party to communicate any disagreements. Id.
The same type of reservations appears throughout the correspondence here,
demonstrating that neither side viewed their proposals as final. Marks October 19
Letter concluded by stating John, if there is any aspect of the above that is
somehow misstated, please let me know. SER 461. Schulmans responsive
October 26 Letter similarly stated I enclose herewith a more fulsome outline
of what we believe the deal weve agreed to is. Were working on the draft
agreement we will have this super-matter transaction in document form. SER
463 (emphasis added). The correspondence accompanying Warners February
2002 Draft stated:
I am pleased to enclose a draft agreement between your clients and
DC Comics concerning the Superman property. As our clients have
not seen this latest version of the agreement, I must reserve their
right to comment. In addition, you will note that the draft agreement
makes reference to certain Stand Alone Assignments. We are
finalizing those and, as soon as they are ready we will forward them to
you.

SER 472 (emphasis added). Such reservations, along with the numerous material
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30
differences in the parties counteroffers, make plain that they had not arrived at a
contract.
F. Established Contract Law Applies To The Film Industry
This Court should give no currency to Warners frivolous suggestion not
made below that the entertainment industry requires deviation from established
contract and copyright law. Opp. 28. See Effects Assocs. v. Cohen, 908 F.2d 555,
556-557 (9th Cir. 1990) (rejecting argument that [m]oviemakers do lunch, not
contracts and enforcing 17 U.S.C. 204(a)); Weinstein Co. v. Smokewood Entmt
Group, LLC, 664 F. Supp. 2d 332, 348 (S.D.N.Y. 2009) (same).
In support of the proposition that it is standard in the entertainment
industry to forgo written contracts, Warner cites to articles, not before the District
Court, that contradict their position and, in any event, are unsupported by any
testimony, expert or otherwise. Opp. 28-29. Oral Contracts, 1 Va. Sports & Ent.
L.J. at 108-09, 111-12, cautions against oral agreements for anything but simple
and short-term contracts; and notes that 17 U.S.C. 204(a) mandates an executed
written instrument for copyright transfers. Resolving Disputes, L.A. Law. at 20,
48, notes evidence of industry custom and practice is not [admissible] if it is
offered to prove or disprove whether or not a contract was formed, and similarly
emphasizes 204(a)s writing requirement.

EXHIBIT 17
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31
G. Summary Judgment Is Appropriate Because No Enforceable
Agreement Existed As A Matter of Law
1. Summary Judgment As To Contract Formation Is Proper
Warner contends that at a minimum a jury should consider its position.
Opp. 34-37. However, Warner has not met the threshold to survive summary
judgment. Once Plaintiff met her initial burden of demonstrating the absence of a
genuine issue of fact, the burden shifted to Warner to designate specific facts
showing that there is a genuine issue for trial. Celotex Corp. v. Catrett, 477 U.S.
317, 324 (1986) (citation omitted). Warner points to no real evidence
contradicting the facially-obvious correspondence that objectively demonstrates
that no contract was formed. As this documentary evidence is undisputed, the
question of whether or not a contract was formed is a question [of law] for the
Court to determine. Bustamante, 141 Cal. App. 4th at 208.
Courts thus routinely decide the issue of whether a contract was formed on
summary judgment. See Novak v. Warner Bros Pictures, LLC, 387 Fed. Appx.
747, 749 (9th Cir. 2010) (affirming summary judgment where [t]he evidence
conclusively establishes that, when negotiations broke off, the parties had not
reached agreement and [n]o rational jury could find that a contract was entered
between the Producers and Warner); Krasley v. Superior Court, 101 Cal. App. 3d
425, 432 (1980) (A number of cases have found [summary judgment] proper and
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32
indeed required in situations involving contracts which were in fact illusory and
consisted only of offers and counteroffers.) (collecting cases and upholding
summary judgment).
While Warner claims whether parties intended to be bound by terms
expressed in an informal agreement is one of fact, and summary judgment
somehow improper, the cases it cites are either inapposite or to the contrary. Opp.
35; Bustamante, 141 Cal. App. 4th at 208 (affirming summary judgment that no
enforceable contract was ever formed between the parties, despite purported oral
agreement); Banner Entertainment, Inc., 62 Cal. App. 4th at 359-62 (unsigned
draft agreements did not create enforceable contract despite testimony as to oral
agreements); Clarke v. Fiedler, 44 Cal. App. 2d 838, 846 (1941) (When, as here,
the evidence indisputably shows that all the terms and conditions of the
understanding between the parties were definitely agreed upon the parties are
bound.); S. Cal. Painters & Allied Trade Dist. Council No. 36 v. Best Interiors,
Inc., 359 F.3d 1127, 1132 (9th Cir. 2004) (applying federal labor law, not
California law, to find triable issues of fact as to a collective-bargaining
agreement); Callie v. Near, 829 F.2d 888 (9th Cir. 1987) (applying Arizona law
regarding a court[s] equitable power to enforce summarily a [complete]
agreement to settle a case pending before it).

EXHIBIT 17
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33
2. None Of Warners Purported Evidence Does Anything To
Establish That A Contract Was Formed
To distract from glaring material differences in the parties written
counteroffers, Warner grossly mischaracterizes Marks testimony to claim that a
binding contract had been reached. Opp. 28-29, 32. Warner asserts that Marks
told Schulman the draft was not contrary to what [had been] agreed to and the
parties could deal with it. Opp. 32. The quotes were not even Marks words,
but inadmissible hearsay in the form of Schulmans purported notes that Plaintiff
objected to below. RER 88 15. Marks testified to the opposite. SER 127. Marks
also testified in detail how Warners counteroffers contained many additional
terms not agreed to. SER 128, 533-547.
Warner leans heavily on Marks alleged subjective beliefs as to a deal.
5

This approach is fundamentally incorrect, because whether a binding contract was
formed is not based on subjective belief, but on objective manifestation of intent
here, the competing counteroffers. See Meyer v. Benko, 55 Cal. App. 3d 937, 942
943 (1976) (mutual consent is determined by objective rather than subjective
criteria); Rael v. Davis, 166 Cal. App. 4th 1608, 1618 n.11 (2008) (Contract

5
To do so, Warner improperly goes well beyond the record evidence and
mischaracterizes inadmissible hearsay in a letter from Plaintiff to her half-brother.
Opp. 37. Plaintiffs concurrently-filed motion to strike details Warners brazen
attempt to inject 166 pages of new material into the record on appeal in willful
violation of established appellate procedures. F.R.A.P. 10(a); Circuit Rule 10-2;
Lowry v. Barnhart, 329 F.3d 1019, 1025-26 (9th Cir. 2003).
EXHIBIT 17
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#:15765

34
formation is governed by objective manifestations, not subjective intent of any
individual involved.).
Notwithstanding this, Marks testimony is consistent with the evidence and
the District Courts ruling that a binding contract was never consummated. RER
55 (Marks: Well, if the question is did I think at this point there was a final,
binding, enforceable agreement, the answer would be no .).
Warner falsely asserts that the differences between the outlines were not
raised at the time. Opp. 33. Schulman sent his October 26 Letter when Marks was
away for a month in China. SER 461; RER 21:16-24. Upon Marks return he
attempted to contact Schulman, but Schulman was on vacation. RER 29:4-7. On
May 9, 2002, Joanne Siegel wrote a letter to Parsons, President of AOL Time
Warner, specifically condemning the unconscionable contract dated February,
2002 [which] contained new, outrageous demands that were not in the proposal.
SER 412-414.
Warner also conspicuously omits Parsons May 21, 2002 reply to Ms.
Siegel, in which he states we continue to hope that this agreement can be closed.
SER 416. Parson did not claim a binding agreement had ever been reached, but
instead indicated that the parties had yet to reach an agreement. See ER 163
(District Court: Time Warner expected that the submission of the draft
agreement would result in further comments and questions on the draft by Siegel
EXHIBIT 17
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#:15766

35
familys representatives that would need to [be] resolve[d].).
Warner also relies on its purported post-agreement conduct. Yet, at no time
in the three years before the Siegels filed suit did Warner/DC ever assert that a
settlement agreement had been reached. Nor did Warner/DC ever retract their
October 26, 2001 or February 1, 2002 counteroffers.
Warner weakly claims that DC manifested its understanding of the
agreement by setting aside a reserve account for the Siegels and including in its
license agreement with Warner Bros. a requirement that the Siegel family be given
screen credit in an upcoming Superman movie. Opp. 30. This supposed reserve
account was anything but. RER 73-74 (DC: None of the Defendants have ever
represented that an actual escrow fund had been created, and admitting that
DC had only summary statements consisting of one-line quarterly total
entries.). Warner also never states that it provided the Siegel family credit on its
2005 film. SER 459 4.
Warners de minimis purported performance does nothing to overcome the
fact that there was no meeting of the minds. See Banner Entertainment, Inc., 62
Cal. App. 4th at 359 ([T]he failure to reach a meeting of the minds on all material
points prevents the formation of a contract even if the parties have orally agreed
upon some of the terms, or have taken some action related to the contract.)
(emphasis in original).
EXHIBIT 17
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#:15767

36
* * *
As the District Court correctly held: [Warners] argument is premised
on the notion that they can limit the scope of the legal analysis to the October 19,
2001, letter, and call it a contract, regardless of their materially different October
26, 2001 letter and their vastly different February 1, 2002 draft, which were
both part and parcel of the same settlement negotiation. ER 201. None of
Warners arguments can withstand the great weight of the objective evidence that
no contract was formed.
II. THE SIEGELS ACTION WAS TIMELY FILED
The Copyright Act provides a three-year statute of limitations for copyright
claims. 17 U.S.C. 507(b). The District Court held, and Warner does not dispute
here, that the Siegels claims accrued at the earliest on April 16, 1999. ER 197.
To facilitate settlement negotiations, DC and the Siegels entered into a
tolling agreement dated and effective April 6, 2000 (the Tolling Agreement)
(SER 348-51) that neither would assert any statute of limitations or laches
defenses relating to the [Termination] Notices based on the passage of time
during the period from the date hereof until cancellation of this Tolling Agreement
pursuant to paragraph 7 hereof. SER 348 at 1. Paragraph 7 provides that the
Tolling Agreement remain in force until 10 business days after the earlier of: (a)
one of the parties terminating negotiations, in writing, relating to the Notices [of
EXHIBIT 17
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#:15768

68
Given the above, the District Courts granting of summary judgment on this
issue was erroneous, as at a minimum a reasonable trier of fact could readily find
that Action Comics, Nos. 7-61 and Superman, Nos. 1-23 were not for-hire.
VII. THIS COURT HAS JURISDICTION OVER THE APPEAL OF THE
FIRST CLAIM AND FIRST FOURTH COUNTERCLAIMS
A. The District Court Fully Adjudicated The First Claim And First
Fourth Counterclaims, Which Did Not Include The Ads Issue
Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 54(b) allows a district court to enter an
appealable judgment on interlocutory orders that constitute an ultimate disposition
of an individual claim, provided there is no just reason to wait until the entire case
concludes. Curtiss-Wright Corp. v. General Electric Co., 446 U.S. 1, 7-8 (1980).
Rule 54(b) certification is left to the sound discretion of the district court,
and is proper if it aids in expeditious resolution while avoiding piecemeal appeals.
See Core-Vent Corp. v. Nobel Indus. AB, 11 F.3d 1482, 1484 (9th Cir.1993). The
trend is towards greater deference to a district courts decision to certify under
Rule 54(b). Texaco, Inc. v. Ponsoldt, 939 F.2d 794, 798 (9th Cir.1991).
Plaintiffs First Claim, as amended, requests only the following relief:
74. For a declaration as follows:
a. That pursuant to the Copyright Act, 17 U.S.C. 304(c),
Plaintiffs validly terminated on April 16, 1999 all prior grants,
assignments or transfers to any of the Defendants and any of their
predecessors-in-interest, of the renewal copyrights in and to each
and/or all of the Works; and
EXHIBIT 17
302
#:15769

69
b. That, as of the Termination Date, Plaintiffs owned and continue
to own fifty percent (50%) of the aforesaid Recaptured Copyrights.

ER 343-44 74. Plaintiffs First Claim thus required the District Court: (a) to
determine that the Termination complied with section 304(c) of the Copyright Act;
and (b) to determine those works recaptured by the Termination. See 17 U.S.C.
304(c)(1), (4) (referring to the work); 37 C.F.R. 201.10(b)(1)(iii) (focusing
on each work to which the notice of termination applies). It did not call for the
adjudication of the literary elements contained in each work. In contrast,
Plaintiffs Second through Fourth Claims, which seek an accounting of profits
from such works, could involve an evaluation of their literary elements due to
general exploitation of the Superman franchise.
In several lengthy decisions, the District Court found that the Termination is
valid as to Action Comics, No. 1, as well as Action Comics, No. 4, Superman, No. 1
(pages 3-6), and the Spec Strips, but that the remaining Superman works within the
1938-43 termination window were for-hire. ER 1-227.
The District Court also fully adjudicated Warners First through Fourth
Counterclaims, which sought to invalidate the Termination on various grounds.
13

Accordingly, on May 17, 2011, the District Court properly entered a Partial

13
Warner admits that the Rule 54(b) judgment on its Second through Fourth
Counterclaims was proper (Opp. 1), which alone is a sufficient basis for
jurisdiction. See Reiter v. Cooper, 507 U.S. 258, 265 (1993); Amerisource Bergen
Corp. v. Dialysist West, Inc., 465 F.3d 946, 954 (9th Cir. 2006).
EXHIBIT 17
303
#:15770

70
Judgment under Rule 54(b) as to Plaintiffs First Claim and as to Warners First
through Fourth Counterclaims. ER 232-3, 293-300 66-105, 343-344 74.
Warner argues that Rule 54(b) certification was supposedly improper
because (a) there are purported open issues as to the impact, if any, of limited
promotional materials (Ads) held to be excluded from the Termination, and (b)
there is disagreement as to whether statements regarding literary elements in
Action Comics, No. 1 made in the background section of the District Courts first
order, constitute dicta. Opp. 40-41.
The dicta issue is irrelevant to the First Claim, which does not seek relief
as to the literary elements contained in any work. ER 343-44 74.
The District Court decided two Ads issues. First, it held that the Ads
were not subject to the Termination because their publication date fell outside the
termination window. ER 167-76. This is all that is relevant to the First Claim.
Second, it properly determined that the derivative Ads content was extremely
limited (ER 176-82), as the Ads reduced, black-and-white, and wholly derivative
copy of the Actions Comics, No. 1 cover was divorced from the Superman storyline
and character in Actions Comics, No. 1. But this determination is not part of the
First Claim, which solely concerned whether the Termination was effective as to a
given work.
14
At most, this issue affects Plaintiffs Second through Fourth

14
Warners contention that Plaintiff has waived her right to challenge the
EXHIBIT 17
304
#:15771

71
accounting claims (ER 344-346 75-79), none of which are part of the Rule
54(b) Judgment.
As the First Claim and the First through Fourth Counterclaims have been
fully adjudged and are severable from the other claims, the District Courts Rule
54(b) judgment was proper.
B. The District Court Accurately Described The Promotional
Announcements
If the Court is nonetheless inclined to reach the issue of the copyrightable
content of the Ads, the District Courts ruling as to the Ads negligible content
was correct.
Warner falsely claims the the scope of the rights at issue was not at issue
in the summary judgment motion. Warner acknowledges (Opp. 81-82) that courts
have the inherent power to order summary judgment sua sponte so long as the
adverse party had a full and fair opportunity to develop and present facts and legal
arguments and reasonable notice that the sufficiency of his or her claim will be
in issue. Portsmouth Square Inc. v. Shareholders Protective Committee, 770 F.2d
866, 869 (9th Cir. 1985).

District Courts limited Ads ruling (Opp. 80-81) is misleading. Plaintiff
maintains that, while the trivial, wholly derivative Ads were not terminated, they
have no impact on the copyrights (e.g., Action Comics, No. 1) recaptured by the
Termination. As this issue is not part of the Rule 54(b) judgment, Plaintiff could
hardly have raised it on appeal. See Docket No. 7 at 11.
EXHIBIT 17
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#:15772

72
Reasonable notice requires that the party be on notice that the court might
reach the issue. Id. at 869-70.
Warner had more than adequate notice. In fact, Warner asserted on
summary judgment that DC and its licensees continue to have the right to use the
copyrightable elements contained in the [Ads] without the need to account to
Plaintiffs. SER 708. In response, Plaintiff emphasized the lack of copyrightable
elements in the Ads and submitted the reports of both parties experts on the
subject. SER 356:19-357:6; RER 104-106, 108-133 30-41. In reply, Warner
argued that the Ads represent the first publication of the appearance of the
Superman character (RER 91:16-20), that any question about [the Ads] contents
is most obviously answered by the ads which speak for themselves, and that no
special lens is required. RER 93:18-20.
Finally, the Court clearly indicated at the hearing on the parties summary
judgment motions that it believed the Ads contained minimal copyrightable
material, at best, and gave Defendants a fair opportunity to respond. RER 78:17-
24. Defendants counsel even discussed this issue with the Court:
The Court: How do you respond to counsels argument that all you
have is the actual picture itself, and not necessarily any of the
elements therein?
Mr. Zissu: Okay. Well, the thing about visual works, multi-media
works, is that pictures are worth -- can be worth many words. We do
have, if you look at it -- if you look at it, you have the figure of
Superman as he appears there in his costume; you have his strength
lifting a car; and you don't have that much more.
EXHIBIT 17
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#:15773

73
The Court: Thats about it; right.

RER 80:12-22 (emphasis added).
Warner was not denied an opportunity to be heard but rather had a full
and fair opportunity to litigate, ample warning that the Court was considering the
issue, engaged with the District Court, and chose to dodge questioning and submit
what it now dismisses as a multiple-generation photocopy only after losing on
the issue. Opp. 82.
Warners arguments about the contents of the Ads an issue which it
concedes is not part of this appeal (Opp. 86) are erroneously premised. Siegels
copyright in Action Comics, No. 1 was correctly held by the District Court to have
been recaptured pursuant to the Termination. ER 133-4. The Ads reduced black-
and-white copy of the mere cover of Action Comics, No. 1 are entirely derivative,
add no new copyrightable elements, and under clear Ninth Circuit law, derivative
works cannot limit, restrict, or divest the copyrights in underlying work. See
Batjac Productions Inc. v. GoodTimes Home Video Corp., 160 F.3d 1223, 1227
(9th Cir. 1998) ([P]ublication of a derivative work does not affect the validity of a
subsisting copyright in the preexisting work.).
Furthermore, the critical point is that the image on the comic book cover has
meaning only in the context of the Superman storyline, character and other aspects
of Action Comics, No. 1, not found in the Ads: [N]othing concerning the
EXHIBIT 17
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#:15774

74
Superman storyline, that is, the literary elements contained in Action Comics, Vol.
1, is on display in the ads. ER 181:9-10.
CONCLUSION
Plaintiff respectfully requests that this Court: (1) affirm the judgment of the
District Court that no agreement was reached between the Siegels and DC Comics;
that Plaintiffs action was timely filed; that Action Comics, Nos. 1 and 4,
Superman, No. 1 and the first two weeks of Superman newspaper strips were not
work-for-hire; and were successfully recaptured by the Siegel Termination; and
(2) reverse the judgment of the District Court with instructions to enter partial
summary adjudication in Plaintiffs favor as to the Superman works within the
1938-1943 Termination window (i.e., Action Comics, Nos. 2-3, 5-56, Superman,
Nos. 1-6, and the remaining Superman newspaper strips); and (3) to remand for
further proceedings.
Dated: May 24, 2011 TOBEROFF & ASSOCIATES, P.C.
/s/ Marc Toberoff
Marc Toberoff
Attorneys for Appellant, Laura Siegel Larson
EXHIBIT 17
308
#:15775

Appeal Nos. 11-55863, 11-56034


Plaintiff, Counterclaim-Defendant, Appellant, and Cross-Appellee,
v.

ON APPEAL FROM THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
CASE NO. CV-04-8400 ODW (RZX)

REPLY BRIEF OF CROSS-APPELLANTS AND APPELLEES
WARNER BROS. ENTERTAINMENT INC. AND DC COMICS

JONATHAN D. HACKER
Telephone: (202) 383-5300

MATTHEW T. KLINE
CASSANDRA L. SETO
Telephone: (310) 553-6700
Facsimile: (310) 246-6779

Case: 11-55863 06/19/2012 ID: 8219717 DktEntry: 49 Page: 1 of 36
EXHIBIT 18
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#:15776

TABLE OF CONTENTS
INTRODUCTION .................................................................................................... 1
JUDGMENT TO LARSON ON THE SETTLEMENT QUESTION ............ 3
A. Larson And DC Formed An Agreement On October 19, 2001 ........... 3
B. Contemplating A Long-Form Document Does Not Defeat A
Deal ....................................................................................................... 7
C. Larson Has Not Raised Any Material Difference On Any
Essential Term Between The Marks And Schulman Writings .......... 10
1. Scope Of Rights ....................................................................... 10
2. Monetary Terms ....................................................................... 11
3. Other Non-Essential Terms .................................................. 13
4. The February 2002 Long-Form ............................................... 14
D. Marks August 2002 Memo Confirms A Deal Was Made ................ 14
II. DISPUTED FACTUAL ISSUES REMAIN AS TO DCS STATUTE-
OF-LIMITATIONS COUNTERCLAIM ..................................................... 16
III. LARSON CANNOT DENY DC OWNS KEY SUPERMAN WORKS ..... 17
A. Elements Of AC#1 Were Made-For-Hire .......................................... 17
1. National Is Not Preclusive ....................................................... 17
2. The 1938 Additions Were Made-for-Hire ............................... 19
a. New Content .................................................................. 20
b. Colorization ................................................................... 21
c. Cover Art ....................................................................... 22
B. DC Owns The Pre-McClure Strips..................................................... 23
1. The Strips Were Made-for-Hire ............................................... 23
2. Larsons Failure To Terminate The Strips Is Dispositive ....... 24
C. Pages 3-6 Of S#1 Are Works-For-Hire .............................................. 25
D. Artwork In AC#4 Is Work-For-Hire .................................................. 26
E. Copyrightable Elements In DCs Promotional Announcements ....... 27
CONCLUSION ....................................................................................................... 28
EXHIBIT 18
310
#:15777
i

Cases
Aalmuhammed v. Lee,
202 F.3d 1227 (9th Cir. 1999) ....................................................................... 19, 20
Banner Entmt, Inc. v. Super. Ct.,
62 Cal.App.4th 348 (1998) ..................................................................................... 7
Blix St. Records, Inc. v. Cassidy,
191 Cal.App.4th 39 (2010) ..................................................................................... 7
491 F.Supp. 1320 (S.D.N.Y. 1980) ...................................................................... 23
683 F.2d 610 (2d Cir. 1982) ................................................................................. 23
Chicot County Drainage Dist. v. Baxter County Bank,
308 U.S. 371 (1940) ............................................................................................. 18
Clarke v. Fiedler,
44 Cal.App.2d 838 (1941) ...................................................................................... 5
Commr v. Sunnen,
333 U.S. 591 (1948) ............................................................................................. 18
Davis & Cox v. Summa Corp.,
751 F.2d 1507 (9th Cir. 1985) .............................................................................. 18
Digerati Holdings, LLC v. Young Money Entmt, LLC,
194 Cal.App.4th 873 (2011) ................................................................................. 13
Dolman v. Agee,
157 F.3d 708 (9th Cir. 1998) ................................................................................ 21
Duran v. Duran,
150 Cal.App.3d 176 (1983) ................................................................................5, 8
Effects Assocs., Inc. v. Cohen,
908 F.2d 555 (9th Cir. 1990) .................................................................................. 6
EXHIBIT 18
311
#:15778
ii

Elite Show Servs., Inc. v. Staffpro, Inc.,
119 Cal.App.4th 263 (2004) ............................................................................... 4-5
Entmt Research Grp., Inc. v. Genesis Creative Grp., Inc.,
122 F.3d 1211 (9th Cir. 1997) .............................................................................. 22
1 Cal.App.4th 613 (1991) ...................................................................................6, 7
342 F.3d 149 (2d Cir. 2003) ................................................................................. 23
Feist Publns, Inc. v. Rural Tel. Serv. Co.,
499 U.S. 340 (1991) ............................................................................................. 26
Firemans Fund Ins. Co. v. Intl Mkt. Place,
773 F.2d 1068 (9th Cir. 1985) .............................................................................. 19
Gaiman v. McFarlane,
360 F.3d 644 (7th Cir. 2004) ......................................................................... 19, 26
Granite Rock Co. v. Teamsters,
649 F.3d 1067 (9th Cir. 2011) .............................................................................. 18
Harris v. Rudin, Richman & Appel,
74 Cal.App.4th 299 (1999) .................................................................................5, 7
In re Pacific Pictures Corp.,
2012 WL 1640627 (9th Cir. May 10, 2012) ........................................................ 16
Inamed Corp. v. Kuzmak,
275 F.Supp.2d 1100 (C.D. Cal. 2002) .................................................................. 13
Leather v. Eyck,
180 F.3d 420 (2d Cir. 1999) ................................................................................. 18
Levin v. Knight,
780 F.2d 786 (9th Cir. 1986) ....................................................................... 4, 6, 10
Marvel Worldwide, Inc. v. Kirby,
777 F.Supp.2d 720 (S.D.N.Y. 2011) .................................................................... 24
EXHIBIT 18
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#:15779
iii

616 F.3d 904 (9th Cir. 2010) .................................................................................. 4
Murray v. Gelderman,
566 F.2d 1307 (5th Cir. 1978) .............................................................................. 24
Norris v. Grosvenor Mktg. Ltd.,
803 F.2d 1281 (2d Cir. 1986) ............................................................................... 18
OBrien v. R.J. OBrien & Assocs., Inc.,
998 F.2d 1394 (7th Cir. 1993) .............................................................................. 16
People ex rel. Lockyer v. R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Co.,
107 Cal.App.4th 516 (2003) ................................................................................. 11
Picture Music, Inc. v. Bourne, Inc.,
457 F.2d 1213 (2d Cir. 1972) ............................................................................... 23
Playboy Enters., Inc. v. Dumas,
53 F.3d 549 (2d Cir. 1995) ................................................................................... 24
77 F.3d 309 (9th Cir. 1996) .................................................................................... 7
Sanborn v. Fed. Crop Ins. Corp.,
93 Cal.App.2d 59 (1949) ...................................................................................... 16
508 F.2d 909 (2d Cir. 1974) .................................................................... 17, 18, 19
Stephan v. Maloof,
274 Cal.App.2d 843 (1969) .................................................................................... 7
The Facebook, Inc. v. Pac. Nw. Software, Inc.,
640 F.3d 1034 (9th Cir. 2011) ...................................................................... passim
Twentieth Century Fox Film Corp. v. Entmt Distrib.,
429 F.3d 869 (9th Cir. 2005) ................................................................... 20, 21, 24
Valente-Kritzer Video v. Callan-Pinckney,
881 F.2d 772 (9th Cir. 1989) .................................................................................. 9
EXHIBIT 18
313
#:15780
iv

Statutes
17 U.S.C 204(a) ...................................................................................................... 6
37 C.F.R. 201.10(e)(1)-(2) .................................................................................... 24
CAL. CIV. CODE 1624 .............................................................................................. 6
Rules
FED. R. EVID. 1002 ................................................................................................... 27
EXHIBIT 18
314
#:15781
1

INTRODUCTION
This case should have ended long before it began. The parties all agreed on
October 19, 2001, that they had a deal permanently resolving their dispute. Laura
Siegel Larson said so, authorizing Kevin Marks to tell DC that her family accepted
DCs offer. Marks said so, both when he told DC Larson accepted, and a year later
when he told Larson an agreement was reached last October with D.C. RER-13.
DC said so, both in October 2001, and in the case below, affirming it was bound to
the terms of Marks October 19 letter. Even now, Larson tells the Court: the
parties thought they had arrived at terms in October 2001. LOR-14.
And indeed they had arrived at terms. The October 19 agreementset forth
in DCs offer on October 16 and Marks acceptance on October 19covered every
essential term of a copyright transfer and resolved every material issue that divided
the parties. Under California law, that deal became binding the moment Marks
expressed Larsons acceptance, notwithstanding the parties contemplation that the
deal would also be papered in a long-form. As Larsons agent, Marks signed a
written acceptance on October 19, satisfying any signature requirements.
Under the deal, Larson would receive tens of millions of dollars in cash and
future royalties, which DC has fully reserved and remains ready to pay. DC would
receive peace with Larson and certainty in its Superman rights. The deal went bad
EXHIBIT 18
315
#:15782
2

only whenand only becauseHollywood businessman Marc Toberoff entered
the picture, seeking to reopen the dispute and obtain the Superman rights himself.
But Toberoffs theory for escaping the 2001 deal is unavailing. Under
Toberoffs guidance, Larson asserts that, although all parties said they reached
agreement on October 19, they were mistaken about essential terms. Her only
evidence is an October 26 letter sent by DCs negotiator, John Schulmanwhich
Larson says differs materially from the October 19 letter. She is incorrect, and
neither she nor Marks took this position at the time. Every essential term in
Schulmans letter is identical in substance to those in Marks letter. Any
difference either involves a non-essential term or is one of semantics. If any
material difference does exist, DC has long agreed: the October 19 letter controls.
DC also owns the large majority of Superman copyrights addressed in the
2001 agreement (save for parts of Action Comics #1), under the work-for-hire
rules. Those rules and deals Larsons father made with DC control here, assuming
the Court reaches these issues. Each of the disputed Superman works was created
by Siegel or other DC artists that DC employed, directed, and paid to create them.
DCs deals with the Siegels should be honored, and [a]t some point,
litigation must come to an end. That point [is] now. The Facebook, Inc. v.
Pac. Nw. Software, Inc., 640 F.3d 1034, 1042 (9th Cir. 2011). Judgment should be
entered in DCs favor, and the 2001 settlement agreement should be enforced.
EXHIBIT 18
316
#:15783
3

JUDGMENT TO LARSON ON THE SETTLEMENT QUESTION
After two-and-a-half years of negotiation, Marks and Schulman agreed,
during an October 16, 2001, call, on all terms essential to settle this dispute,
including a copyright transfer. SER-105, 434. Larson accepted DCs terms on
October 19in a call Marks made that day and in a signed, six-page letter he sent.
SER-107-08, 456-61. A contract was formed on October 19; its terms stated in
Marks letter. While Larson now recites a list of alleged differences among later
communications, those differences do not speak to, and cannot alter, the terms of
the October 19 deal. And none reflects a disagreement on a material term.
A. Larson And DC Formed An Agreement On October 19, 2001
Between 1999 and 2001, Schulman and Marks spent many hours negotiating
the parties dispute. SER-434. By October 16, 2001, all crucial elements of the
deal, including the scope of rights to be transferred and all monetary terms, were
settled, save one. SER-105-08, 434-35. The remaining issue was Larsons right to
claim an interest in Superman once certain early works entered the public domain;
Marks and Schulman discussed that final point on October 16. SER-105-07, 434-
35. DC made an offer on that final point and all other material terms. Id. On
October 19, Marks telephoned Schulman to communicate Larsons acceptance and
report we are closed. SER-107-08. Marks sent a letter confirming Larson had
accepted D.C. Comics offer, as detailed in a six-page term sheet. SER-456-61.
EXHIBIT 18
317
#:15784
4

Marks October 19 call and letter sealed the deal. The letter contained all
material terms for a copyright transfer, specifically, the subject matter [and] the
price. Levin v. Knight, 780 F.2d 786, 787 (9th Cir. 1986); SER-456-61. The
letter unequivocally accepted DCs offer. SER-456 (The Siegel Family has
accepted D.C. Comics offer of October 16, 2001.). The acceptance was signed
by Larsons agent, the party against whom enforcement is sought. Levin, 780
F.2d at 787. A binding agreement was formed. Facebook, 640 F.3d at 1037-38.
Larson does not argue she did not consent to be bound by the terms of
Marks October 19 letter. Rather, she suggests Marks misunderstood DCs offer,
and thus his letter was a counteroffer. LOR-14-17. But according to Marks and
Schulmans unrebutted testimony, Marks letter was consistent with every material
term of DCs October 16 offer. SER-110, 435. That testimony alone precludes the
summary judgment order issued below, and justifies this Court entering judgment
in DCs favor. Larson does not dispute this Court may enter judgment for DC.
DCB-28. At a minimum, the issue must be remanded for trial. Id. at 34. For if a
jury credited Marks and Schulmans testimony that Marks October 19 acceptance
tracked DCs October 16 offeras it easily couldthen the Marks letter correctly
states all essential terms agreed to by the parties, and a contract was formed.
1

1
See Facebook, 640 F.3d at 1037; Mattel, Inc. v. MGA Entmt, Inc., 616 F.3d
904, 910-13 (9th Cir. 2010); Elite Show Servs., Inc. v. Staffpro, Inc., 119
EXHIBIT 18
318
#:15785
5

The only evidence Larson offers to suggest that Marks October 19
acceptance letter did not match the terms of DCs offer is Schulmans October 26
letter. SER-463-70. Larson argues the contract terms described in Schulmans
letter vary so markedly from those described in Marks letter that no jury could
reasonably find that Marks accurately understood DCs offer when he
unequivocally accepted it on Larsons behalf. LOR-13-24.
That supposed variance comes nowhere close to justifying summary
judgment on the issue of contract formation in Larsons favor. First, the variance
does not eliminate a factual dispute whether Marks understood DCs offer when he
accepted itat the very most, it creates a dispute. Second, the supposed variance
is not a variance at allthere is no difference between two letters on any material
term. Infra at 10-14. Third, even if Schulmans letter reflected a difference on a
material term, that difference could not alter or supersede the already-existing
October 19 agreement. If the law allowed a writing like Schulmans to undermine
an earlier agreement, any party could repudiate a contract by simply suggesting
other and additional terms. Clarke v. Fiedler, 44 Cal.App.2d 838, 847 (1941).
Through her agent, Larson provided a signed, written acceptance of DCs
offer. No additional writing or signature was required. Id. at 846 (enforcing
contract when there was no agreement signed by either party); Ersa Grae Corp. v.

Cal.App.4th 263, 268 (2004); Harris v. Rudin, Richman & Appel, 74 Cal.App.4th
299, 308-09 (1999); Duran v. Duran, 150 Cal.App.3d 176, 181 (1983).
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Fluor Corp., 1 Cal.App.4th 613, 624 n.3 (1991); Levin, 780 F.2d at 787-88; CAL.
CIV. CODE 1624 (statute of frauds requires only that contract be in writing and
subscribed by the party to be charged or by the partys agent) (emphasis added);
DCB-26-27.
Larson invokes the Copyright Act, and its rule that copyright assignments be
signed by the owner of the copyright, or her agent. 17 U.S.C 204(a). Larson
concedes Marks was her agent, RER-9, and his letter clearly expresses her
acceptance to transfer all of [her] rights in Superman, SER-456, 458. If
the copyright holder agrees to transfer ownership to another party, that party must
get the copyright holder to sign a piece of paper saying so. It doesnt have to be
the Magna Charta; a one-line pro forma statement will do. Effects Assocs., Inc. v.
Cohen, 908 F.2d 555, 557 (9th Cir. 1990). Marks signed, six-page letter qualifies.
Finally, the parties actions show they agreed to be bound. They negotiated
for two years, and resolved their last deal point on October 16. SER-456, 463-64.
Larson suggests the October 16 deal was so hastily made that within days Marks
and Schulman could not remember its terms; exchanged conflicting term sheets;
and then let those conflicts fester. LOR-16-17. This account is unsupported. The
parties stopped negotiating in October because they had a deal, and Marks never
objected to Schulmans letter or called it a counter-offer. DC undertook the
separate task of preparing a long-form, SER-435, and began performing on the
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2001 deal, reserving amounts due. These are all acts of parties who had a deal.
2

B. Contemplating A Long-Form Document Does Not Defeat A Deal
Larson argues Marks October 19 acceptance is not enforceable because it
was subject to documentation and would need to be reduced to a mutually-
acceptable written contract. LOR-26. But (i) Marks October 19 letter contains
no such condition, and (ii) the rule in California could not be clearer:
The fact that an agreement contemplates subsequent documentation
does not invalidate the agreement if the parties have agreed to its
existing terms.
Ersa, 1 Cal.App.4th at 624 n.3; accord Harris, 74 Cal.App.4th at 307; Stephan v.
Maloof, 274 Cal.App.2d 843, 848 (1969); Facebook, 640 F.3d at 1037; Blix St.
Records, Inc. v. Cassidy, 191 Cal.App.4th 39, 48-49 (2010).
Larsons cases, LOR-27, show that California law requires an express
reservation to make a contract unenforceable for lack of later documentation,
Rennick v. O.P.T.I.O.N. Care, Inc., 77 F.3d 309, 316 (9th Cir. 1996) (letter of
intent not binding because it expressly stated it was of no binding effect on any
party hereto); Banner Entmt, Inc. v. Super. Ct., 62 Cal.App.4th 348, 359 (1998)
(draft expressly disclaimed it constituted legal and binding obligation until

2
Toberoff calls the reserve Hollywood accounting, LOR-7 n.2and may
need to say this to mislead Larson about the deal he induced her to abandonbut
the record fact remains that a reserve was set; it totals more than $20 million, SER-
397-99; and the funds will be paid to Larson if this Court enforces the 2001
agreement. Larson gets all of this money, though Marks may have a claim to 5%;
only Toberoff loses his improperly obtained 40% (or more) cut. DCB-16-19.
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signed by the parties). Indeed, in Duran, 150 Cal.App.3d at 181, the party said
she must approve the final written terms before being bound, but the court held
that a jury must determine whether an enforceable agreement had been made.
Here no party ever made any such reservation, either in Marks letter or in
the months that followed during efforts to finalize the long form. SER-114-15,
435, 456. Everyone continued to refer to the deal the parties had madeeven
Larsons mother in her letter to Time Warner, in its response, and in Marks later
communications with DC and Larson. SER-412-14, 416, 435-36; RER-13-14. If
the question of contract formation was for the jury in Duran, where one party said
her approval of formal documentation was required, DC is surely, at the very least,
entitled to the same jury determination here, where no reservation was ever made.
Larson wrongly suggests Marks letter contained clear reservations that
Larson did not consider the deal done until finally documented. LOR-28. The
language she cites, SER-461, does not bear this out:

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Marks never reserves Larsons rights pending a final agreement. That is especially
clear when read in conjunction with the first paragraph of Marks letter, which
contain an unambiguous acceptance by Larson on defined terms:
SER-456.
3

Finally, while Schulmans October 26 letter does not mattersince an
agreement had already been reachednothing in it constitutes a clear
reservation either. Just the opposite: it expressly confirms the deal weve
agreed to. Id. SER-463. It notes that DC will undertake the task of putting
together the contemplated long-form. And there is no reservation, clear or
otherwise, of a right by DC to change the October 19 deal.
4

3
Larson relies on Valente-Kritzer Video v. Callan-Pinckney, 881 F.2d 772, 775
(9th Cir. 1989), but there, the lawyer said his client had not seen or accepted the
newly drafted contract. While his letter contained a congratulations for reaching
a deal, the fact that his client had not reviewed it undercuts the hint of finality that
emanates from his comment. Id. Here, Marks affirmed: Larson accepted.
4
DCs reservation to comment on the 50-plus-page long-form document its
outside counsel first circulated in February 2002 is quite different, cf. LOR-29, and
the reservation says nothing about re-opening the October 2001 deal, SER-463.
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E. Copyrightable Elements In DCs Promotional Announcements
Larson does not dispute the only issue before the district court on summary
judgment concerning the Promotional Announcements was whether they fell
outside the time-limit to terminate. The court held the Announcements were not
subject to terminationand Larson does not challenge this ruling. LOR-71 n.14.
The district court then made inaccurate statements concerning the visible elements
in the Announcements based on its review of a poor, multiple-generation
photocopy. SER-44-45. Because the visibility issue was not before the court,
DC did not present briefing, evidence, or expert testimony addressing it. DCB-82.
Larson says DC nevertheless had adequate notice and a fair opportunity
to be heard because the scope question was briefly raised during the summary
judgment hearing. LOR-72. Not so. DCs counsel specifically said at the
hearingwithout objection or contradictionthat the scope of whats in these
ads is something for another day. LSL-RER-80-81.
Larson offers no defense of the district courts refusal to review an original
version of the Announcements, as explicitly required by FED. R. EVID. 1002. See
DCB-82-83 (collecting cases). And while she says the Announcements contain
no new copyrightable elements, LOR-73, that is, at best, an issue for trial. In
any event, a cursory review of an original Announcement shows it includes many,
key copyrightable elements. DCB-84; Docket Nos. 30-1, 36-1.
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CONCLUSION
The Court should enter judgment in DCs favor on its settlement defense, or,
at the least, reverse and remand on that defense and DCs limitations defense for
trial. If the Court finds it has jurisdiction on the copyright issues presented, and it
finds it needs to reach them, it should affirm and reverse in part, as DC has shown.

JONATHAN D. HACKER

MATTHEW T. KLINE
CASSANDRA L. SETO


Dated: June 19, 2012
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ORAL ARGUMENT 11/5/2012
Plaintiff, Counterclaim-Defendant, Appellant,
and Cross Appellee,
v.
Defendants, Counterclaimants, Appellees,
and Cross-Appellants.
ON APPEAL FROM THE UNITIED STATES DISTRICT COURT
CASE NO. CV-04 8400 ODW (RZx)
ORAL ARGUMENT
HEARD BEFORE NINTH CIRCUIT PANEL:
REINHARDT, THOMAS, SEDWICK
NOVEMBER 5, 2012
TRANSCRIBED BY: MELANIE M. FAULCONER
CSR NO. 6420
1
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1 PASADENA, CALIFORNIA
2 NOVEMBER 5, 2012
3
4 ---0 --
5
6 MARC TOBEROFF, ESQ.: May it please the Court. Good
7 morning, your Honors. My name is Marc Toberoff and I
8 represent the Plaintiff, Laura ~ i e g e l Larson.
9 I'd like to reserve 10 minutes of my 20 minutes
10 for rebuttal, if I may.
11 The Copyright Act's termination provisions were
12 designed to remedy the tremendous imbalance of power
13 between author/creators and media companies and to give
14 an author and an author's family an opportunity after a
15 very long waiting period to participate in the increased
16 market value of their works by finally recovering their
17 copyrights for the extended renewal term.
18 This case has become emblematic of the kind of
19 war of attrition an author's family must endure before
20 vindicating those rights.
21 I'm going to first turn to Warner Bros.'s
22 alleged settlement agreement defense.
23 Warner Bros.'s defense is based on a false
24 contract -- construct that it can artificially limit the
25 legal analysis to a single October 19th letter from the
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1 Siegels' attorney and call that a contract, regardless
2 of the differing the terms in Warner Bros.'s October
3 26th counteroffer and vastly different terms in Warner
4 Bros.'s February 1st counteroffer, which were part and
5 parcel of the exact same contract negotiation.
6 The cases Warner Bros. relies on are in the
7 opposite, particularly the Facebook case.
8 In the Facebook case, unlike here, you had a
9 binding contract signed by the parties. That contract
10 also contained a stipulation saying that it would be
11 binding and enforceable in a court of law. So the
12 question before the Ninth Circuit was whether the terms
13 of that contract were sufficiently definite to be
14 enforceable. And of course this Court, since it
15 basically called for the payment of fixed amounts of
16 cash and stock, found that it was enforceable.
17 None of that exists here. After the
18 termination --
19 JUDGE REINHARDT: Are you saying there was no
20 contract or that the contract, if it existed, was not
21 not a contract that could be enforced?
22 MARC TOBEROFF, ESQ.: There was no contract signed
23 by the parties.
24 JUDGE REINHARDT: No. I said-- that's your first
25 contention, that there's no contract.
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1 Is it your second contention or is that the
2 issue, whether there was a contract?
3 MARC TOBEROFF, ESQ.: In this case
4 JUDGE REINHARDT: Yes.
5 MARC TOBEROFF, ESQ.: the issue is whether
6 there's a binding contract.
7 JUDGE REINHARDT: Okay.
8 MARC TOBEROFF, ESQ.: So here after the effective
9 date of the settlement - of the Siegels' termination in
10 April of 1999, on again/off again settlement discussions
11 ensued.
12 And on October 9th, John Schulman on behalf of
13 Warner Bros., their general counsel, and Kevin Marks on
14 behalf of the Siegels held a telephone conference.
15 On October 16th, Marks sends over a letter
16 purporting to set forth the terms that were discussed on
17 October 16th.
18 On October 19th in his letter, he's he's
19 going over the terms, but it's an equivocal letter
20 because at the end he says, "John, if I got anything
21 wrong, please let me know."
22 JUDGE THOMAS: Why do you say that's equivocal?
23 MARC TOBEROFF, ESQ.: Because it shows at the very
24 beginning it's indefinite because he's unsure of --
25 JUDGE THOMAS: No. That's using typical language.
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ORAL ARGUMENT 11/S/2012
Pa S
2 I mean, the response to it, if they -- if they
3 had written back and said, "No. You're right," you'd
4 have to agree that there's a contract; right?
s MARC TOBEROFF, ESQ.: That could be the case.
6 JUDGE REINHARDT: What could be the case?
7 MARC TOBEROFF, ESQ.: Well, you said --
8 JUDGE REINHARDT: "This is absolutely right. This
9 is the contract we agreed to," isn't-- wouldn't that be
10 enough?
11 MARC TOBEROFF, ESQ.: It's further along than the
12 facts here, but what happened here isn't --
13 JUDGE REINHARDT: That I know, but that wasn't the
14 question.
15 MARC TOBEROFF, ESQ.: Okay.
16 JUDGE REINHARDT: All right. So this could be the
17 contract if the parties agreed to it?
18 MARC TOBEROFF, ESQ.: That's correct, if the party
19 agreed to material terms, you could have a contract.
20 JUDGE REINHARDT: Yeah.
21 So you don't think that it's proper for a
22 lawyer who says, "This is the contract we agreed to. If
23 you have any question about it" --
24 MARC TOBEROFF, ESQ.: I don't think it's--
25 JUDGE REINHARDT: "tell me"?
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1 MARC TOBEROFF, ESQ.: improper at all, but I
2 don't think that forms --
3 JUDGE REINHARDT: But, I mean, that shows
4 uncertainty?
5 MARC TOBEROFF, ESQ.: It's not an unequivocal
6 acceptance of terms, but -- but even that --
7 JUDGE REINHARDT: No. It's a statement of the
8 terms.
9 MARC TOBEROFF, ESQ.: It's a statement of what he
10 perceived the terms as discussed on October 16th.
11 On October 26th, Schulman writes back while
12 he Marks then goes off to China. On October 26th,
13 Schulman writes back and in effect says, "You got it
14 wrong. Enclosed is a more fulsome outline of what we
15 believe the terms of the deal are."
16 That constitutes a counteroffer because the
17 terms outlined in the October 26th letter from Schulman
18 materially differ from the terms in the October 19th
19 letter from Marks.
20 A counteroffer in the State of California
21 extinguishes Marks' offer. Marks' offer itself is a
22 counteroffer because he purports to accept an offer on
23 October 16th that Schulman then tells him was never
24 made. You could stop right there --
25 JUDGE THOMAS: He didn't say that. He said that's
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1 "a more fulsome outline."
2 I mean, we have a there are sort of two
3 issues. One is, did the parties ever agree to the
4 terms? And and, two, were the terms embodied in the
5 rst letter and- and should a court enforce that?
6 And we've had there are cases that go a
7 little bit all over the map on that, but, I mean, there
8 are a lot of cases in which you say, "All right. We
9 know you added some terms, but this is the agreement the
10 Court is going to enforce," and it's the simple
11 agreement as to terms.
12 So what what tells you that they're making a
13 true counteroffer as opposed to adding a bunch of
14 conditions that a court could later say, "Well, we're
15 not going to put those in because obviously the parties
16 didn't agree to them"?
17 MARC TOBEROFF, ESQ.: Well, there's no agreement by
18 Warner Bros. as to the terms set forth in his letter.
19 In fact, there's disagreement. There's disagreement as
20 to the properties that are being assigned. There's
21 disagreement as to the essential term of compensation,
22 which you're dealing with a --you're not dealing here
23 with a payment of cash and stock. You're dealing with a
24 complex royalty system applicable to multiple media
25 where you're dealing with Marks that says, "We will not
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1 indemnify Warner Bros. We'll only warrant --we haven't
2 sold these rights to someone else," and Warner Bros.
3 adding six or seven warranties with indemnifications
4 attached.
5 JUDGE REINHARDT: Well, both sides agreed that they
6 had agreed to a contract.
7 MARC TOBEROFF, ESQ.: No. Both sides perceived that
8 they had a deal in principle. And the cases have said
9 that a deal in principle does not make a binding
10 contract.
11 What happens is in his October 26th
12 counteroffer Schulman doesn't stop there but he makes
13 reference and incorporates by reference a February 1st
14 draft that then comes in and widens the gap between the
15 parties even further.
16 On -- on May 9th, Joanne Siegel reacts to the
17 new and different terms that are being added by Warner
18 Bros. and -- and rejects those terms and says, "There
19 will-- there is no agreement."
20 And on May 26th -- she wrote a letter to the
21 CEO of Time Warner, Dick Parsons. On May 26th, 2002
22 Dick Parsons writes back and acknowledges that they had
23 no agreement. He says, "We hope the parties can arrive
24 at an agreement."
25 From that point on, from October 19th of 2001
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1 until we filed suit in - in October of 2004, Warner
2 Bros. not once said that, "We have an agreement and we
3 accept the terms in the October 19th letter." They were
4 totally silent for three years about that.
5 They come up with this concocted defense when
6 we filed suit to enforce the termination rights. Under
7 cop- --
8 JUDGE THOMAS: You've described a lot of factual
9 considerations.
10 Why -- why isn't this a matter for trial as
11 opposed to summary judgment?
12 MARC TOBEROFF, ESQ.: Because contract formation is
13 based on the objective manifestations of the parties'
14 intent. And here you have that objective manifestation
15 in the form of three or four undisputed documents: the
16 October 19th offer or counteroffer, the October 26th
17 counteroffer, the February 26th counteroffer, the May
18 9th rejection, and the May 26th letter in response
19 acknowledging that there's no agreement.
20 Warner has not come up with anything that
21 creates a genuine issue of material fact.
22 It -- the Court not only was allowed to rule on
23 summary judgment, it was required to rule on summary
24 judgment.
25 JUDGE THOMAS: Why do you say that, "required"?
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1 MARC TOBEROFF, ESQ.: Because - because based on --
2 based on this undisputed objective manifestation of the
3 parties' intent there, was no meeting of the minds on
4 the material terms. The Court rightly said, "I can
5 point to no document that contains the part s'
6 agreement."
7 Warner Bros. a negotiation is a give and
8 take. You can't take an offer -- you can't go back
9 freeze in time and take an offer that a party made, a
10 proposal that you eviscerated by the counteroffer,
11 continued to grind the other side in negotiations, and
12 when that fails, reach back and try and resuscitate a
13 offer that has been extinguished by a counteroffer.
14 JUDGE REINHARDT: Well, an agreement was reached,
15 according to your client's lawyer -- right? -- and he
16 advised the other side on August 9th that, "I must
17 caution. I believe an agreement was reached last
18 October, albeit subject to documentation."
19 So the issue was whether the documentation
20 reflected the agreement.
21 MARC TOBEROFF, ESQ.: The contract fell apart, as
22 many contract negotiations, in the attempt to focus on
23 the details of the agreement.
24 JUDGE REINHARDT: There was an agreement and then
25 there was a dispute over the details, the documentation
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1 of it.
2 MARC TOBEBOFF, ESQ.: No. There was a deal in
3 principle. But that deal in principle, for instance,
4 involved a 6 percent royalty. That 6 percent royalty
5 had all sorts of sliding scale reductions. There were
6 exclusions as to revenues to - to which that royalty
7 would apply, would not apply. You had very important
8 issues (unintelligible) studio agreements. You have a
9 series of warranties that have indemni cations attached
10 to them, and if someone is found that you've breached
11 that warranty, they withhold the money on the royalty.
12 JUDGE THOMAS: No. I understand that.
13 MARC TOBEROFF, ESQ.: The question is not whether
14 that's an unusual term. The question is whether it
15 had -- it was contained in the October 19th letter. And
16 here he's saying, "There will be no indemnification from
17 the Siegels."
18 So the question is, does that become a material
19 term of the agreement?
20 And it certainly is a material term. The fact
21 you have snch indemnities customarily in agreements I
22 would submit is not the issue.
23 The question is, did they agree to it on
24 October 19th? And they didn't.
25 Did Warner Bros. make that the condition of an
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1 agreement? Yes, they did.
2 And if-- and if these you know, people say
3 "a deal is a deal" precisely when they don't have a
4 binding contract.
5 If these terms were not material to Warner
6 Bros., then why did they insist upon them?
7 If a deal is a deal, then why did they go --
8 why didn't they just accept the October 19th recitation
9 of the terms and why did they continue to grind the
10 Siegels in the October 26th outline and in their
11 horrendous contract?
12 If you -- the same attorney, Marks, who sent
13 that attorney-client communication, which ordinarily
14 would have been privileged but for the fact it was
15 stolen from my law offices, the same attorney that wrote
16 that testified at length at deposition why, although he
17 thought there was a deal, there was no binding contract,
18 and he goes term by term by term in sworn testimony
19 comparing the huge gaps between the parties that had
20 developed.
21 You can't form a contract for the parties. The
22 contract the parties have to form a contract
23 themselves. Nor can you go back and -- and arrest the
24 legal analysis.
25 JUDGE REINHARDT: I don't understand what that
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1 means.
2 You can't form a contract between the parties
3 if you're their representative?
4 MARC TOBEROFF, ESQ.: No. A court cannot write a
5 contract for the parties when the parties themselves
6 cannot agree upon the terms.
7 JUDGE THOMAS: No. The only question is whether
8 they had an agreement in the earlier deal that's the
9 question and whether then there was a counteroffer
10 made later? I mean, those are -- those are the two
11 questions.
12 I mean, if they had -- we have all sorts of
13 cases where you -- it happens all the time in
14 mediation. Parties agree on principle. They draft up a
15 set of principal points, and then they go draft
16 documents, and then another fight erupts and they say,
17 "Well, we can't agree on this." It might be
18 indemnity. It might be something else. And then the
19 Court says, "All right. I'm going to enforce the
20 initial agreement that you made, period."
21 Isn't that the question here?
22 MARC TOBEROFF, ESQ.: No. Here you don't even have
23 the first point.
24 JUDGE REINHARDT: Well, that's --
25 MARC TOBEROFF, ESQ.: Unlike--
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1 JUDGE THOMAS: That's why--
2 MARC TOBEROFF, ESQ.: Unlike in the Facebook case
3 where you have a signed document signed by the parties
4 agreeing to certain terms that are definite and
5 enforceable, you don't even have that here.
6 And the reason we know you don't have that here
7 is because rather than accept -- in your hypothetical
8 you say they would accept the October 19th terms. They
9 did the opposite. They didn't accept them.
10 JUDGE THOMAS: Well, they purported to by saying,
11 "Here's a more fulsome."
12 Now, you -- you would say -- you say that's
13 artifice and they were actually counter-
14 MARC TOBEROFF, ESQ.: Of course.
15 JUDGE THOMAS: -- counterclaiming.
16 MARC TOBEROFF, ESQ.: In the Valente in the
17 Valente-Kritzer case this Court held that congratulatory
18 words as to --
19 JUDGE THOMAS: Yeah.
20 MARC TOBEROFF, ESQ.: --finally arriving at a deal
21 or in our case a monumental accord are meaningless.
22 What you look to is the objective manifestation
23 and you don't have an agreement where you don't have a
24 mutual meeting of the minds on the material terms of an
25 agreement.
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1 And here the objective evidence proves that.
2 And that's why in summary judgment the Court was
3 required to find there was no agreement. And there is
4 nothing that they put forward that raised a genuine
5 issue of fact as to contract formation.
6 I'd like to reserve the remainder for rebuttal.
7 JUDGE REINHARDT: Thank you.
8 MARC TOBEROFF, ESQ.: Thanks.
9 DANIEL M. PETROCELLI, ESQ.: May it please the
10 Court. Daniel Petrocelli with my colleagues Cassandra
11 Seto and Matt Kline for the DC Comics parties.
12 Turning initially to the issue of the
13 settlement agreement, it's our fundamental position that
14 this was not a matter appropriate for summary judgment
15 and that the Court should have allowed this to go to
16 trial on the lynchpin factual issues of whether or not
17 the parties reached an agreement, and if so, to what?
18 And our position in the Court below and in this
19 appeal was that the parties did reach an agreement with
20 the acceptance letter that the plaintiff's lawyer sent
21 to DC Comics on October 19, 2001 at SER 456.
22 This is a detailed recitation of terms written
23 in powerful legal language of acceptance which says, "We
24 hereby -- the Siegel family has accepted DC Comics'
25 offer," and then it goes on to say, "The terms are as
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1 lows," and this was the culmination of two-and-a-half
2 years of back and forth negotiations, and the record
3 before the District Court was that this letter was
4 written following a phone call between the two principal
5 negotiators where they resolved the last deal point, and
6 the testimony of Mr. Marks, the plaintiff's
7 representative was, "We are closed. We will send you
8 the document." Mr. Schulman responded, "Great. We'll
9 start working on a long form."
10 This document is then sent, and a week later
11 Mr. Schulman responds, and, very importantly, this
12 document is sent by one of the most experienced lawyers
13 in one of the most experienced law firms in the country
14 dealing with entertainment contracts. This lawyer who
15 knows and probably has written thousands of times a
16 reservation of rights that this document is not binding
17 until and unless a long form or a more formal document
18 is executed says no such thing in this letter.
19 JUDGE REINHARDT: Now, are you talking about
20 Mr. Schulman's letter?
21 DANIEL M. PETROCELLI, ESQ.: No. I'm talking about
22 the acceptance letter, the document that constitutes the
23 contract. That's the letter of October 19, 2001.
24 JUDGE REINHARDT: All right. And then you said -- I
25 thought you said that the reply --
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1 DANIEL M. PETROCELLI, ESQ.: Okay.
2 JUDGE REINHARDT: -- was written by Schulman.
3 DANIEL M. PETROCELLI, ESQ.: I may have misspoken.
4 But in this document following the conversation
5 with the DC representative, there's no indication in
6 here that the parties do not intend to be bound until
7 some future event. There's no reservation, and the
8 testimony in the record is, "We are closed."
9 Then a week later, Mr. Schulman, the recipient
10 of Mr. Marks' letter and the other negotiator, responds
11 to it, and he states -- and I won't characterize it as a
12 counteroffer because I think that's begging the issue.
13 He states, "I've received it. I've reviewed it. I
14 enclose herewith for you and Bruce a more fulsome
15 outline of what we believe the deal we've agreed to is.
16 We're working on the draft agreement so that by the time
17 you have accomplished something of truly momentous
18 import, we will have this super matter transaction in
19 document form." And then he goes on and flushes out in
20 more detail the same terms that appear in the October 19
21 letter and adds some things here and there to be sure,
22 like an indemnity or he flushes out a detail on some of
23 these royalty provisions. These are essentially
24 immaterial variations and differences that are the
25 normal part of a process of commencing a long -- a long
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1 form document.
2 Now, the error, the fundamental error of
3 analysis here both by the District Court and by
4 Mr. Toberoff is -- is the fact that this process is
5 going on, that there's now an effort to create a long
6 form is dispositive of the of the conclusion that
7 there is no contract.
8 And that's what the District Court ruled.
9 Simply because the parties after the contract was formed
10 in the -- in the unambiguous acceptance letter, just
11 because of that, the fact that they now endeavor to do a
12 long form, the judge concluded as a matter of law there
13 can be no agreement.
14 And that's just wrong.
15 There are scores of cases. This is an
16 extremely familiar situation where parties believe
17 they've reached a deal. They have a confirmatory letter
18 or document. They go off to prepare the long document.
19 Something happens, things breakdown, and one side then
20 says, "We don't have a deal."
21 JUDGE REINHARDT: Was there any affidavit or
22 information introduced 1n the District Court as to the
23 custom and practice in the industry of reaching an
24 agreement, proceeding with it and then having the
25 documents prepared?
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1 DANIEL M. PETROCELLI, ESQ.: There was no custom and
2 practice evidence in the record, but to be sure, that
3 would be highly relevant on the issue.
4 Mr. Schulman had a direct declaration in the
5 record saying that Mr. Larson's (sic) letter accurately
6 reflected all the terms of the deal and that he wasn't
7 intending to change anything and he was just flushing
8 out the detail.
9 Now the proof is in the pudding.
10 In response to this letter of October 26, which
11 the plaintiffs want to suggest lS some material
12 departure, they even go so far as to say this is a
13 counteroffer. In response to Mr. Schulman's letter,
14 Mr. Marks never objects. He never reaches out and says,
15 "Wait a second. You got a problem. That's not what
16 we've agreed to."
17 JUDGE REINHARDT: Tell me why, if that's correct, lS
18 this matter for trial rather than summary judgment for
19 you?
20 DANIEL M. PETROCELLI, ESQ.: Well, we did not move
21 for summary judgment in the Court below.
22 JUDGE REINHARDT: You're not asking for that here?
23 DANIEL M. PETROCELLI, ESQ.: Well, we think the
24 record evidence that there is an agreement is so strong
25 that we do think it can support a judgment in our favor,
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1 but we -- at the very minimum we believe that we're
2 entitled to a trial.
3 The judge just departed wildly from the summary
4 judgment standard. He drew all that adverse inference
5 against us. He -- he did not understand that the
6 question of whether or not the long form process does or
7 does not negate a prior agreement is a factual
8 question.
9 Your Honor dealt with that issue, if I may, in
10 the you had a case with Judge Pregerson on -- it was
11 the Best Interior -- the Best Interiors case, the same
12 situation. The plaintiff was a labor union and they --
13 and they sued this company, and they had an agreement,
14 they had a handshake agreement, and then they went on to
15 do a long form, and things broke down, and the judge
16 concluded there was no deal as a matter of law, and this
17 Court reversed that and this Court said that the
18 question of the intent to contract is a fact issue. The
19 question of whether the subsequent events undid the
20 prior agreement or didn't undo the prior agreement,
21 that's a fact question.
22 JUDGE THOMAS: So are there undisputed facts or
23 not?
24 I mean, I -- I'm not sure I -- I understand
25 your answer because Judge Reinhardt was asking you, "Is
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1 there sufficient evidence to -- for summary judgment in
2 your favor?" And -- and you said, "Well, yes, there are
3 fact issues," so I'm
4 DANIEL M. PETROCELLI, ESQ.: There are-- there
5 are
6 JUDGE THOMAS: Tell me aside from the documents
7 themselves what genuine issues of material fact you
8 would raise.
9 DANIEL M. PETROCELLI, ESQ.: The ques- -- the
10 threshold question of whether the parties intended to be
11 bound and by this letter, by this -- by this acceptance
12 letter or whether they intended not to be bound at that
13 time but only upon such time as they agreed to a long
14 form. We say that they intended to be bound at this
15 time.
16 But that question and all the events that
17 happened, that's evidence that's relevant to the
18 threshold issue of whether or not there was a deal in
19 the first place. It is not dispositive that there was
20 no deal.
21 And so that's the -- that's the fundamental
22 factual issue.
23 There's a second factual issue, I suppose, and
24 that's what --what terms the parties agreed to.
25 Well, we-- our position is it's everything in
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1 this letter, nothing more. To the extent that
2 Mr. Schulman's letter is perceived to have added terms
3 or suggested new terms, they're not part of the deal.
4 It's that simple.
5 JUDGE THOMAS: Why isn't that a matter of law that
6 you can decide on the basis of the documents
7 themselves?
8 DANIEL M. PETROCELLI, ESQ.: You can decide as a
9 matter of law that if the parties reached the contract
10 as of October 19, everything thereafter doesn't matter.
11 What can't be decided as a matter of law is
12 that the parties did not reach an agreement. That
13 cannot possibly be resolved against us with this record
14 of direct admissions by the plaintiffs that there was an
15 agreement, not only in the acceptance letter, not only
16 in the no response to Mr. Schulman's letter, thereby
17 indicating there was nothing significant or new or
18 different about it, but --
19 JUDGE REINHARDT: Well, the second one was even more
20 fulsome than the first, I guess.
21 DANIEL M. PETROCELLI, ESQ.: Excuse me?
22 JUDGE REINHARDT: The second one was more fulsome
23 than the first.
24 DANIEL M. PETROCELLI, ESQ.: The second one to be
25 sure was 50 pages of boilerplate, yes, but --
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1 JUDGE THOMAS: Well, except -- except perhaps as to
2 royalty rate.
3 DANIEL M. PETROCELLI, ESQ.: Excuse me?
4 JUDGE THOMAS: Except perhaps as to royalty rate.
5 DANIEL M. PETROCELLI, ESQ.: Well, under royalty
6 rate, if you really read the letter between Mr. Schulman
7 and Mr. Marks, they're --they're flushing out very
8 precise little details about when the royalty rate gets
9 reduced, if multiple characterizes are involved, if it's
10 a cameo appearance, if it's a special project. I mean,
11 this is why sometimes documents take 50 pages or more.
12 But that's not a material term, the absence of
13 which would negate a contract, and if it were, that
14 itself is a question of fact. And case after case say
15 the -- the importance to which the parties attach to
16 particular terms is a fact question.
17 There was a question to Mr. Toberoff earlier I
18 think by Judge Reinhardt about whether this document,
19 this -- this contract, this acceptance letter of October
20 19 has sufficient material terms to constitute a
21 contract.
22 It does. It easily passes the test. I mean,
23 the threshold, as the Facebook case illustrates, is very
24 low: price, term. So there's no question that this
25 document contains sufficient terms that a court could
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1 never look at this document and conclude as a matter of
2 law that it's not sufficient to be a contract.
3 Whether there are new and additional terms that
4 the parties wanted and whether that somehow gets added
5 on here or doesn't get on, that's a fact question that
6 takes testimony about the significance to which parties
7 attach to -- to the point, did they discuss it in their
8 negotiations, did ~ h e y not discuss it, did they forget
9 to put in something, did they not forget, and that's the
10 subject of testimony.
11 Counsel has conflated this idea of the
12 objective hearing of contracts, which to be sure is how
13 the issue is decided, with the rules of evidence about
14 what kind of testimony is admitted in order to prove up
15 intent.
16 All kinds of testimony is admitted, including
17 custom and practice, including parties' state of mind as
18 to why they did certain things, why they said certain
19 things.
20 So at bottom we think that this case never
21 should have been thrown out, and importantly this has
22 the potential to dispose of this entire dispute.
23 Under this agreement, which took three years to
24 negotiate, the plaintiffs would receive an immediate
25 payment of $20 million, plus substantial future
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1 consideration for the duration of the copyright term,
2 which is 2033, plus medical benefits for their family
3 and all kinds of other benefits.
4 On the other hand, DC gets the transfer of the
5 copyright interests that were recaptured by the Siegel
6 family. So they - they transfer the copyright
7 interests, and they get a lot of money.
8 JUDGE REINHARDT: Well, that's not --that's
9 not -- no need to try to persuade us it's a good deal
10 for them. If they think it's a good deal
11 DANIEL M. PETROCELLI, ESQ.: Well--
12 JUDGE REINHARDT: -- for them, they wouldn't be
13 here.
14 DANIEL M. PETROCELLI, ESQ.: Well, that's correct,
15 your Honor, because they believed they had a better deal
16 when someone came along and offered them more, and --
17 and they then repudiated this agreement.
18 And one final comment.
19 This question about what we did and did not do
20 afterwards, that's a very incomplete recitation that was
21 received, but all of that is simply more relevant
22 evidence on the question of whether the parties at the
23 inception when they made their deal intended to be bound
24 or not. That's just evidence of subsequent conduct of
25 the parties. Whether it bears on the contract formation
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1 or not is a relevance issue that's up to the trial judge
2 here.
3 JUDGE SEDWICK: Let me ask you this question.
4 We had read your papers to suggest you were
5 seeking summary judgment, but assuming that you're
6 either now only seeking a remand for trial or that we
7 should independently decide that that's the most you
8 could get, do you think that this Court needs to decide
9 any of the other issues if we remand this case for trial
10 and whether there was an agreement?
11 DANIEL M. PETROCELLI, ESQ.: I believe that since
12 this is potentially dispositive, it does not have to
13 because if this contract is proven and this contract is
14 enforced, that ends once and for all this dispute.
15 Every issue that is before your Honors and these very
16 large amount of briefs would all -- would all resolve.
17 That's why it took three years to do. This wasn't some
18 initial offer.
19 JUDGE REINHARDT: You may not be the one to answer
20 this question, but just out of curiosity, would it
21 resolve the prior case also?
22 DANIEL M. PETROCELLI, ESQ.: Well, it would have a
23 significant impact at least on the damages in the prior
24 case and my view is it would go a long way to resolving
25 that one as well, at least insofar as the Siegel side is
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1 concerned.
2 I don't know if I have any time left.
3 JUDGE REINHARDT: You have five minutes.
4 DANIEL M. PETROCELLI, ESQ.: I would like to turn to
5 one other legal issue that's on a totally separate
6 subject, if your Honors don't have any additional
7 questions on this topic, and that has to do with a
8 decision, purely legal decision that the District Court
9 below made.
10 And what the Court decided was that this very
11 first Superman comic book, which is called "Action
12 Comics Number 1," SER 714, the District Court decided
13 that since this was largely created by Mr. Siegel and
14 Mr. Shuster long before DC came into the picture, "this"
15 being the character Superman in black and white
16 sketches, that he awarded the copyrights in the various
17 elements in this action comics book entirely to the
18 Siegels and the Shusters.
19 The error -- we -- we said to the judge, "We
20 don't challenge that in the main, except for this. We,"
21 DC, "back in 1938 came up with the idea of making a
22 comic book. Siegel and Shuster had drawn sketches of
23 Superman for newspaper strips in black and white. We
24 want to create a comic book. We want to put it in
25 color. And we then retained them to do so."
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1 It is undisputed that certain elements of this
2 were done by DC in concert with Shuster and Siegel but
3 with other employees and artists. So we asked the Court
4 to declare certain parts of this -- certain parts of
5 this owned by DC, either as a work for hire or as a
6 joint work or other theories of ownership.
7 The Court said he was -- the Court concluded it
8 was precluded from doing so because of a decision back
9 in the seventies in the Second Circuit by DC's
10 predecessor and Siegel and Shuster called the National
11 case, and the Court believed that the National case was
12 res judicata and/or collateral estoppel and prevented DC
13 from litigating the issue of whether it had ownership
14 interest and admittedly part of the contributions that
15 it made to Action Comics 1.
16 And I only wanted to address the Court's ruling
17 on collateral estoppel. But it was clearly wrong for
18 the following reason, and this is a purely legal issue.
19 The National case back in the seventies was a
20 lawsuit about who owned the renewal copyright in Action
21 Comics 1, and this was before the new termination
22 legislation came about, the second 28-year renewal
23 term.
24 DC contended that it owned the renewal term for
25 two separate and independent reasons.
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1 One, the Siegel and Shuster part s transferred
2 full ownership of their Superman elements way back when
3 when they first met with DC and documented March 1. So
4 they said, "We own it by contract."
5 Second, secondly DC said - actually it was
6 National, its predecessor, but I'll just call it "DC."
7 DC said, "We own it because it was work for hire and we
8 were the author of it, and so we own the renewal
9 rights." So they said, "We own the renewal right for
10 those reasons."
11 The District Court agreed on both counts, and
12 it went up to the Second Circuit.
13 The Second Circuit affirmed on the ground that
14 the conveyance of rights back in 1938 from Siegel and
15 Shuster to Na- to DC included the conveyance of the
16 rights to the renewal term, and so the decision below
17 was correct and it was affirmed.
18 The Second Circuit then went on to say,
19 however, that the ruling about work for hire was
20 incorrect, and it made some references to the fact that
21 Superman had been developed before DC came along, so how
22 could the entirety of Action Comics 1 be a work for
23 hire?
24 It's that language that the judge in this case,
25 the District Court, felt was binding on him.
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1 We pointed out below and pointed out in our
2 papers, as a matter of law that cannot be res judicata
3 or collateral estoppel because that was an adverse
4 determination made in favor of a prevailing party and it
5 was not necessary to the decision and it was dictum.
6 We, for example, never could have appealed that
7 decision. We won, National did. It never could have
8 appealed solely for the purpose of addressing the
9 alternative statement by the Court of Appeal that was
10 adverse to -- to National.
11 And case after case make this clear, including
12 the Fireman's Fund case in the Ninth Circuit, the --
13 JUDGE REINHARDT: All right. We're running out of
14 time. Let me just ask you.
15 Is this -- is this issue resolved if you win on
16 the summary judgment question?
17 DANIEL M. PETROCELLI, ESQ.: Yes. Everything goes
18 away on the summary judgment, everything, your Honor.
19 It's - it's the end of this case once and for all.
20 JUDGE REINHARDT: All right. Thank you very much.
21 DANIEL M. PETROCELLI, ESQ.: Thank you very much,
22 your Honors.
23 MARC TOBEROFF, ESQ.: Your Honors, Warner Bros.
24 cannot point to any place in 2001 where they accepted
25 the terms set forth in the October 19th, 2001 letter
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1 from Marks.
2 I don't know how one can find that a contract
3 exists without mutual agreement of both sides.
4 Instead of agreement from Warner Bros. we have
5 disagreement as reflected in the October 26th letter and
6 as reflected in Warner Bros.'s agreements.
7 It's -- it's insane to say this is purely a
8 question of formal documentation of an agreement of the
9 parties when there is
10 JUDGE REINHARDT: The problem -- and maybe you can
11 comment on this, Mr. Toberoff. The problem is that the
12 October 26th letter doesn't reject the October 19th
13 letter. It says, "a more ful- -- I'm enclosing a
14 fulsome outline of what we believe the deal we've agreed
15 to is."
16 Now, the argument on the other side is that
17 that says, "We've agreed to a deal but we're giving you
18 a more expansive outline of what that deal is."
19 Now, what's the answer to that?
20 MARC TOBEROFF, ESQ.: The answer to that is whether
21 or not there's a contract is not based on verbiage such
22 as "a more fulsome outline." It's based on the
23 comparison of the terms. And anything less than an
24 unequivocal acceptance of an offer is a counteroffer
25 extinguishing that offer.
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1 California and it's still that way in California. So
2 regardless of how you
3 JUDGE REINHARDT: Well, take -- take the example of
4 a movie distribution deal or a movie production deal
5 where the parties make -- they agree to the deal. They
6 then start with the movie. Finally in the middle of the
7 movie they get down to reducing everything to writing
8 and there's a disagreement but both parties agree that
9 "we have a deal."
10 Now, is that not an agreement without the
11 written exposition of it?
12 MARC TOBEROFF, ESQ.: It depends on the terms of the
13 agreement. Here -- here -- and there have been cases
14 about that where one side has argued, "In California and
15 Hollywood we do lunch. We don't do contracts," and
16 they've rejected those arguments when it came down to
17 specific contract formation issues like this.
18 They cannot point to an acceptance of the terms
19 of the October 19th letter. And instead we have --
20 JUDGE THOMAS: Well, it depends on who is the
21 offerer and who is the-- who is the accepting party.
22 What-- what the October 19th letter says, "This
23 is to confirm our telephone conversation," it goes on to
24 say, "which we accept the DC Comics' offer of October
25 16th. II
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1 So if there's a legitimate offer on the 16th
2 and accepted on the 19th, does it really matter what
3 happened after that?
4 MARC TOBEROFF, ESQ.: Yes, it does because on
5 JUDGE THOMAS: I mean, if there's a contract
6 formation as of this and it's reflected in the letter of
7 the 19th, then --then there's a deal.
8 MARC TOBEROFF, ESQ.: But this is an ongoing
9 negotiation that continues into 2002.
10 JUDGE THOMAS: No. I understand that.
11 MARC TOBEROFF, ESQ.: And that's acknowledged by all
12 the parties. So you can't artificially limit the
13 analysis to an oral communication on October 16th and a
14 written communication on October 19th.
15 JUDGE THOMAS: I'm just saying, to my mind at least,
16 I haven't come to rest on it, but it certainly suggests
17 that it's a more complicated situation, and therefore
18 there's a -- probably a genuine issue of material fact.
19 MARC TOBEROFF, ESQ.: I -- I can see none. And I
20 can tell you why. Because when he refers to the October
21 16th conferen- teleconference and -- and asks, "Do
22 you agree that these are the terms?" because that's what
23 he says, he says, "If I got anything wrong, let me
24 know," he's essentially asking, "Do you agree, Warner
25 Bros., that these are the terms?" and all they w.ould
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1 have to have done is said, "Yes," then you would have a
2 different situation.
3 And that's not the situation that exists here,
4 and the objective evidence shows that -- the undisputed
5 evidence shows that it's not the situation that exists
6 here.
7 What it shows is that Warner Bros. said,
8 "That's not what I believe" --
9 JUDGE THOMAS: They didn't say that.
10 MARC TOBEROFF, ESQ.: Yes, they did.
11 JUDGE THOMAS: They said, "Here's --here's a --
12 here's a larger outline."
13 Now today they say, "Well, that's essentially
14 the same terms." And you can say, "Well, it's not the
15 same terms."
16 And, you know, obviously they didn't agree --
17 the parties did not agree on indemnity, period. There's
18 no agreement on indemnity.
19 But the question for the Court is not
20 necessarily whether there was -- whether -- the question
21 is whether there was a contract formed before that.
22 MARC TOBEROFF, ESQ.: Exactly. This isn't-- well,
23 there's not a contract formed before that if when he
24 says, "This is the terms that we believe were
25 discussed," he doesn't just say, "more fulsome outline,"
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1 he says, "a more fulsome outline of what we believe the
2 terms are." They then send over a contract and reserve
3 the right of Warner Bros. to -- to -- to revise the
4 terms, and they acknowledge that the Siegels can also
5 revise the terms. It's not just a matter of these
6 indemnity provisions.
7 I would refer the Court --
8 JUDGE THOMAS: No. I understand that. I just used
9 that as an example.
10 I mean, it often happens where you have a deal
11 reached, a deal letter like this, and then the parties
12 add terms, and they say, "Well, that's not part of our
13 deal," and then they may agree or disagree on subsequent
14 terms, but that doesn't alter the original agreement or
15 the fact that it's been made.
16 MARC TOBEROFF, ESQ.: The problem is you have no
17 acceptance to those original terms. The hypothetical
18 doesn't apply here.
19 JUDGE THOMAS: Unless you say that this -- the --
20 the letter of the 19th accepts an offer of the 16th.
21 MARC TOBEROFF, ESQ.: And -- and we have a letter
22 from October 26th saying that wasn't the offer, "This is
23 what we believe the deals are."
24 Now, I want to draw the Court's attention to a
25 chart in our reply brief below which impressed the
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1 District Court who dealt with this in tremendous
2 detail. It's in our reply excerpts at Pages 140 to 149
3 where we outline the material differences.
4 Warner acknowledges that the properties being
5 assigned is an essential term using -- using words from
6 the -- from the Facebook case.
7 Well, the properties in the Marks' memo are
8 limited to three Superman, Superboy and
9 Spectre.
10 The properties in Schulman's memo and then in
11 the February 1st agreement concern Superman, Superboy,
12 related properties and anything created for DC, whether
13 published or unpublished, by Siegel. So there's an
14 expansion of what is even being assigned.
15 Secondly, the royalties. You have a very
16 complex royalty situation here. It's not like in
17 Facebook with a fixed amount of money and a fixed amount
18 of stock. You have a 6 percent royalty which was
19 reducible to 3 percent, which is then reducible to 1 1/2
20 percent to 1 percent as an absolute floor.
21 Warner Bros. drills all sorts of holes ln that
22 floor rendering them illusory and -- and having
23 situations where they would receive no money whatsoever
24 for the exploitation of Superman.
25 These are material contract terms. You can't
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1 ignore them. They change the -- the -- the dance
2 between offer and counteroffer. And that's the way
3 contract formation is analyzed in the State of
4 California.
5 Warner Bros. has a situation where if Superman
6 appears in a in another character's contract
7 published by DC, like Green Arrow, for weeks Superman is
8 appearing but the name is not in the title of the comic
9 book, under -- under Schulman's scenario, you would
10 receive a -- excuse me -- under Marks' scenario, you
11 would receive a royalty. Under Warner Bros.'s scenario,
12 you receive no royalty.
13 It comes as no surprise that all of the changes
14 made by Warner Bros., which they now say are boilerplate
15 and not material, were all decidedly in Warner Bros.'s
16 favor and affect the key terms of the agreement: the
17 scope of the properties, the royalties and
18 compensation.
19 The -- the warranties and indemnifications is
20 not a small matter because what happens with the studios
21 when you enter in a contract and you have substantial
22 contingent compensation and there's any claim by a third
23 party or anything happens which they can claim triggers
24 a warranty, they will withhold your -- they will
25 withhold your royalty payments.
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1 There are credit provisions where Marks says,
2 ''We want credit in paid ads," because that's very
3 important to his clients and he testifies that to
4 effect.
5 Warner Bros.'s October 26th outline and their
6 long form says, "No credit in paid ads." Warner Bros.
7 requires an elderly Joanne Siegel who is ln her late
8 eighties to go on publicity tours promoting surerman.
9 None of this exists. There's --
10 JUDGE REINHARDT: Well, that doesn't sound like
11 (unintelligible) form. As David's (sic) saying, "These
12 are the sort of -- the kind of things we put in our
13 contracts."
14 And, you know, that clause isn't drawn for her
15 individual --you know, because they're concerned about
16 her. That's a boilerplate provision.
17 MARC TOBEROFF, ESQ.: Well, it's not boilerplate to
18 say that the Siegels have to indemnify Warner Bros. for
19 a claim for her ex-husband.
20 JUDGE REINHARDT: No, no. I'm talking about that
21 Joanne -- that Joanne Siegel has to go on a tour. You
22 know, those are the kinds of things that have to be
23 worked out after there's a contract.
24 MARC TOBEROFF, ESQ.: Well, but the royalty
25 provisions and the scope of the properties assigned go
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1 to the heart of this. And under Section 204(a) of the
2 Copyright Act when you have an assignment of a
3 copyright, it has to be in writing signed by the
4 assignee.
5 Marks' letter does not assign any trans- -- any
6 copyrights. It says, "We will. We anticipate signing
7 those contracts."
8 Nobody in this exchange viewed the October 19th
9 letter outlining deal terms or the October 26th letter
10 outlining different deal terms as a binding, enforceable
11 contract. Everybody understood that considering the
12 magnitude of these rights and the complexity of the
13 agreement that was being discussed that you would have a
14 final written agreement signed by both parties.
15 JUDGE THOMAS: So how do we -- how do we determine
16 that as a matter of summary judgment, that everybody
17 understood?
18 MARC TOBEROFF, ESQ.: Because-- because
19 JUDGE THOMAS: No. I mean, you can't -- you can't
20 do that without without extrinsic evidence of the
21 parties.
22 And you well may be right. I'm just saying.
23 But if you can't do it on the basis of the documents
24 alone. If you have to rely on what you say is that
25 everybody understood, then that's extrinsic evidence
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1 that requires a resolution by a fact-finder.
2 MARC TOBEROFF, ESQ.: I respectfully disagree, your
3 Honor. If you look at the October 26th Warner Bros.
4 communication, it specifically refers, "We will have
5 this matter drafted in contract form and we will send it
6 to you." So right there you know --
7 JUDGE THOMAS: Well, that's what happens in all
8 cases. You don't have a -- you always have --
9 MARC TOBEROFF, ESQ.: But that's not extrinsic
10 evidence. That's objective evidence saying that --
11 showing that the parties anticipated that the form of
12 agreement would be a written agreement signed by both
13 parties. And that's what's required by the Copyright
14 Act. That never happened. And then they send it over
15 and they reserve the right to --
16 JUDGE THOMAS: I don't mean to quarrel with you.
17 I'm just -- you know, we're working through these --
18 these cases.
19 But what often happens when you have a
20 situation like this is the Court will say, "If you have
21 enough for specific enforcement of the terms to which
22 you agreed," and therefore you execute the unnecessary
23 assignments and so forth.
24 The fact that they weren't all executed I don't
25 think is dispositive. I
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1 Now, you may well be right on it. I'm just
2 saying that it's a more complicated issue than--
3 MARC TOBEROFF, ESQ.: Your Honor, I believe if you
4 peel back the veneer of comments like "a deal is a deal"
5 and look at the actual facts of this case carefully, you
6 will see that under every single principle in California
7 law about contract formation this fails as a matter of
8 law and you can make that determination on this
9 objective exchange of undisputed documents. The parties
10 absolute -- in the State of Calif- --
11 JUDGE REINHARDT: I think we've explored this
12 fully. And you're seven minutes are over, so --
13 I mean, you know, these are not simple issues,
14 and I don't mean that the answer may not be simple, but
15 the case, as you say, you know, we're going to-- to the
16 extent that we haven't sufficiently read them, we'll
17 certainly explore them all, and, you know, we understand
18 the arguments of both side, and they're legitimate
19 arguments, so
20 MARC TOBEROFF, ESQ.: I'd just like to read to you
21 from a memo that you pointed out, Marks' memo, which by
22 the way is an extra-record document that should be made
23 part of this record, but I'd like to read to you what
24 Marks actually says in that memo.
25 He says, "I believe a deal will be finalized
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1 with DC Comics, even if this process is not entirely
2 smooth - smooth. If the parties cannot reach final
3 agreement, then the negotiations would be terminated."
4 That's what he says in an attorney-client communication
5 that they're saying proves there was a binding
6 contract.
7 JUDGE REINHARDT: Okay. Thank you.
8 MARC TOBEROFF, ESQ.: Thank you, your Honor.
9 JUDGE REINHARDT: The case just argued will be
10 submitted.
11 ---0---
12
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#:15834

BEIJING
BRUSSELS
HONG KONG
LONDON
LOS ANGELES
NEWPORT BEACH
NEW YORK
Los Angeles, California 90067-6035
TELEPHONE (310) 553-6700
FACSIMILE (310) 246-6779
www.omm.com

SAN FRANCISCO
SHANGHAI
SILICON VALLEY
SINGAPORE
TOKYO
WASHINGTON, D. C.
OUR FILE NUMBER
905900-321
WRITERS DIRECT DIAL
(310) 246-6850
WRITERS E- MAIL ADDRESS
[email protected]
January 29, 2013
VIA E-MAIL

Marc Toberoff
Toberoff & Associates, P.C.
Malibu, CA 90265
Re: October 19, 2001 Settlement Agreement Payment
Dear Marc:
In view of the Ninth Circuits January 10th decision that the October 19, 2001, letter
created an agreement, DC Comics is prepared to tender payment under that Agreement. In that
regard, we ask you to confirm that your clients are now prepared to perform under the
Agreement pursuant to its terms.
The Agreement provides that DC Comics shall make payment directly to four parties:
Joanne Siegel (47.5%), Laura Siegel Larson (23.75%), Michael Siegel (23.75%) and Gang, Tyre,
Ramer & Brown (5%). However, as Joanne Siegel and Michael Siegel are deceased, it appears
that payments of their respective shares should be made directly to their respective estates
representatives. We understand that Laura Siegel Larson is the Personal Representative of the
Estate of Joanne Siegel and that Melvin Banchek is the Fiduciary of the Estate of Michael Siegel.
The Agreement also provides that DC Comics is to reimburse Laura Siegel Larson for
costs of medical and dental insurance for her and her sons (for so long as they were minors)
incurred since November 2000. Please have Ms. Larson provide us with appropriate
documentation so that these amounts can be reimbursed.
Finally, Paragraph C.9 of the Agreement provides the opportunity for the Siegel Family
to be informed about, and provide input regarding, major Superman developments. If Ms.
Larson is interested in exercising this opportunity with respect to the forthcoming motion picture
Man of Steel, please so advise and I will have Diane Nelson of DC Entertainment make
appropriate arrangements.
EXHIBIT 20
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#:15835
January 29, 2013, Page 2
The foregoing is without prejudice to DC Comics defenses, claims and remedies,
including, without limitation, damages for breach of contract, claims for attorneys fees and
costs, and rights of offset, all of which are hereby reserved.

Very truly yours,
/s/ Daniel M. Petrocelli
of OMELVENY & MYERS LLP
cc: Melvin Banchek
Gerald Berk
Donald Bulson
Richard Kendall
Arthur Levine
John Pettker
Bruce Ramer
Gary Ruttenberg
George Zadorozny
EXHIBIT 20
369
#:15836


A PROFESSIONAL CORPORATION

MARC TOBEROFF*
KEITH G. ADAMS
PABLO D. ARREDONDO*
DAVID HARRIS

* Also admitted in New York
22337 PACIFIC COAST HIGHWAY #348

MALIBU, CALIFORNIA 90265

TELEPHONE
(310) 246-3333

FACSIMILE
(310) 246-3101

[email protected]

February 9, 2013

Via E-Mail

Daniel Petrocelli
OMelveny and Myers LLP
Los Angeles, CA 90067

Re: Larson v. Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc., et al., Case No. 10-CV-08400 ODW (RZx)

Dear Dan:

I write on behalf of plaintiff Laura Siegel Larson, in response to your J anuary 29, 2013 letter.
Therein, defendant DC Comics purports to offer to tender performance pursuant to an October
19, 2001 letter.

As a preliminary matter, while the Ninth Circuit held that the October 19, 2001 letter constituted
an acceptance sufficient to create a contract on that date, it decidedly did not order the district
court to enter judgment in DCs favor. Instead, the Ninth Circuit expressly remanded and
directed the district court to adjudicate DCs third and fourth counterclaims regarding the
October 19, 2001 letter. DCs contract counterclaims and Ms. Larsons defenses to those
counterclaims will need to be litigated, pursuant to the same legal standards and procedures
applicable to any such claims and defenses.

DCs prodding the district court to hastily enter judgment in DCs favor with no regard for
well-worn legal standards, such as those governing summary judgment and trial of material
issues of fact, is transparent and improper.

DCs purported and belated tender of performance under the October 19, 2001 letter is facially
incomplete and illusory. Among other deficiencies, and reserving all of Ms. Larsons rights and
defenses, are the following:

1. While DC offers to tender payment, it does not specify the amount. Under the terms of
the October 19, 2001 letter, DC would have been obligated to pay fixed compensation of at least
$8.5 million over the past decade, commencing with $3.5 million on March 31, 2002. DC would
also have been obligated to render annual accountings commencing on March 31, 2002 of the
EXHIBIT 21
370
#:15837
TOBEROFF & ASSOCI ATES, P.C.

February 9, 2013
Re: Larson, Case No. 10-CV-08400 ODW (RZx)
Page: 2 of 2

amounts due in cash and the contingent back-end participation set forth in the October 19, 2001
term sheet.

In addition, because the October 19, 2001 letter deems all but $1 million of the above cash
payment as an advance against Ms. Larsons alleged contingent royalty set forth in the October
19, 2001 letter, DCs supposed tender of payment is meaningless and not susceptible to
calculation without inclusion of detailed accounting statements computing the amount of Ms.
Larsons alleged royalties thereunder. As DC has repeatedly represented to the Court that it has
kept a reserve account for the benefit of Ms. Larson pursuant to the October 19, 2001 letter
and an ongoing accounting of monies it says are payable to Ms. Larson under the October 19,
2001 letter, DC could have readily provided this information but once again failed to do so.

Rendering DCs tender even more illusory, DC states in its J anuary 29 letter that its supposed
tender of payment is without prejudice to DC Comics defenses, claims and remedies,
costs, and rights of offset, all of which are hereby reserved. In short, DC vaguely offers to
tender payment of an unspecified amount, but reserves the right to reduce that amount to a
nullity.

DCs recently filed motions for summary judgment in Larson v. Warner Bros. Entertainment
Inc. confirm that DC will seek to reduce or eliminate the monies it now pretends to tender.
C.D. Cal. Case No. 04-CV-08400 ODW (RZx), Dkt. 702 at 8 (DC will seek its attorneys fees
under the Copyright Act and its Fourth Claim in these cases.).

2. Paragraph C.9 of the October 19, 2001 letter expressly states that DC will provide the
opportunity to be informed about major developments (e.g., motion pictures, television programs
), and the Siegel Family will have an opportunity to give its input, and that the Siegel
Family will be informed of such [major] developments early enough in the development process
so that their opportunity to give input is meaningful. (Emphasis added). DCs offer of
compliance regarding the forthcoming Man of Steel movie is thus illusory as well, as that film is
slated for release on J une 14, 2013, and it is our understanding that principal photography of that
film has already been completed.

3. DCs offer with respect to medical and dental insurance is incomplete, as it does not offer
to reimburse the estate of Michael Siegel for his mental and dental insurance, from 2001 until his
death in 2006.

4. DCs tender of performance under the October 19, 2001 letter is further deficient in that it
ignores other purported DC obligations in that letter, including the provision of credits on
Superman comics and other publications, movies and television programs, as set forth in
Paragraphs C.3 and C.4, and Full E&O and general liability insurance coverage against
liability for DC or its affiliates actions, as set forth in Paragraph 14.

EXHIBIT 21
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#:15838
TOBEROFF & ASSOCI ATES, P.C.

February 9, 2013
Re: Larson, Case No. 10-CV-08400 ODW (RZx)
Page: 3 of 3

On a different note, DCs copying of its J anuary 29 letter to virtually every attorney it is aware of
who has ever been even tangentially connected with Ms. Larson or the Shuster estate is a
blatantly improper attempt to indirectly communicate with our clients in violation of Cal. R.
Prof. Conduct Rule 2-100, sow confusion, and interfere with our firms attorney-client
relationships. It also gratuitously burdens Ms. Larson and the Shuster estate with unnecessary
legal fees.

As DC well knows: Mr. Kendall does not represent Ms. Larson, or any other party in the Siegel
litigations; he represents me regarding DCs frivolous tort claims. Mr. Levine handled the
Siegels notices of termination in 1997, but has had very limited involvement since then, and no
involvement in this litigation which commenced in 2004. Mr. Bulson ceased representing
Michael Siegel upon his death in 2006, and is in the midst of a dispute with his estate, of which
Ms. Larson is the sole beneficiary. Mr. Zadorozny does not represent Ms. Larson in these
litigations, and, as Ms. Larson testified at her 2012 deposition, he infrequently advises her on an
ad hoc basis on tangential matters. Finally, as DC also knows, Mr. Pettker has had no
relationship with Ms. Larson at all rather he is the attorney who probated J oseph Shusters
estate back in 2003.

Due to these improprieties, Ms. Larson has instructed me to remind DC and your firm of your
obligation to direct all communications to my law firm, her chosen attorneys of record in these
cases, and not to prior or present counsel who do not represent her in these litigations.

Nothing in this letter should be construed as a waiver or limitation of Ms. Larsons rights or
remedies, all of which are reserved.

Very truly yours,

Marc Toberoff

EXHIBIT 21
372
#:15839

BEIJING
BRUSSELS
HONG KONG
LONDON
LOS ANGELES
NEWPORT BEACH
NEW YORK
TELEPHONE (310) 553-6700
FACSIMILE (310) 246-6779
www.omm.com

SAN FRANCISCO
SHANGHAI
SILICON VALLEY
SINGAPORE
TOKYO
WASHINGTON, D. C.
OUR FILE NUMBER
905900-321
WRITERS DIRECT DIAL
(310) 246-6850
[email protected]
February 12, 2013
VIA E-MAIL

Marc Toberoff
Malibu, CA 90265
Dear Marc:
This responds to your letter of February 9, 2013.
In my letter of January 29, 2013, I advised you that DC Comics was prepared to tender
payment under the October 19, 2001 Agreement (Agreement) of all amounts accrued through
December 31, 2012. I then asked you to confirm that your client Laura Siegel Larson is now
prepared to perform under the Agreement pursuant to its terms. Despite three pages of argument
and rhetoric, your letter deliberately refused to provide the requested assurance that Ms. Larson
is duly prepared to perform the Agreement. Therefore, DC reserves all its rights under the
Agreement and the law, including the right to suspend its performance in view of your clients
continuing repudiation.
As to the remainder of your letter, DCs tender of performance under the Agreement was
not deficient. DC was not required to reiterate every obligation under the Agreement. In
addition to offering to pay all amounts due, DC called out specific obligations requiring the
active participation or cooperation of your clients. The credit obligations you mentioned, for
example, do not require your clients participation and as such were not specifically addressed.
Nor does DCs reservation of rights undermine its tender of performance. If and when DC were
to obtain an order for the payment of attorneys fees against your clients, then DC would have a
right of offset, in addition to other relief.
Likewise without merit is your assertion that DCs tender regarding Paragraph C.9 of the
Agreement is illusory because it comes too late. To date, your clients elected not to
participate with DC and provide input based on their decision to wrongfully repudiate the
EXHIBIT 22
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#:15840
February 12, 2013, Page 2
Agreement. This is a circumstance entirely of their own making, and one you and your clients
are prolonging by continuing to repudiate the Agreement.
Also unfounded is your criticism of DCs tender because it did not offer to reimburse the
estate of Michael Siegel for mental [sic] and dental insurance, from 2001 until his death. My
letter was addressed to you in your capacity as Ms. Larsons counsel. I do not understand that
you are counsel to the Estate of Michael Siegel. DC, of course, stands ready to reimburse those
expenses under the Agreement if the Estate supplies the appropriate documentation.
costs, and rights of offset, all of which are hereby reserved.
Very truly yours,
CC: Melvin Banchek
Gerald Berk
Donald Bulson
Richard Kendall
Arthur Levine
Bruce Ramer

EXHIBIT 22
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#:15841
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DCS STATEMENT OF GENUINE
ISSUES IN OPP. TO DEFS. MSJ

DANIEL M. PETROCELLI (S.B. #097802)
[email protected]
MATTHEW T. KLINE (S.B. #211640)
[email protected]
CASSANDRA L. SETO (S.B. #246608)
[email protected]
Los Angeles, CA 90067-6035
Telephone: (310) 553-6700
Facsimile: (310) 246-6779

Attorneys for Plaintiff DC Comics
CENTRAL DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA

DC COMICS,

Plaintiff,

v.

PACIFIC PICTURES
CORPORATION, IP WORLDWIDE,
LLC, IPW, LLC, MARC TOBEROFF,
an individual, MARK WARREN
PEARY, as personal representative of
the ESTATE OF JOSEPH SHUSTER,
JEAN ADELE PEAVY, an individual,
LAURA SIEGEL LARSON, an
individual and as personal
JOANNE SIEGEL, and DOES 1-10,
inclusive,

Defendants.

Case No. CV 10-3633 ODW (RZx)
DC COMICS STATEMENT OF
GENUINE ISSUES OF
MATERIAL FACT AND
RESPONSE TO DEFENDANTS
CONCLUSIONS OF LAW IN
OPPOSITION TO DEFENDANTS
MOTION FOR PARTIAL
SUMMARY JUDGMENT ON DCS
FOURTH, FIFTH AND SIXTH
CLAIMS

Hon. Otis D. Wright II

Hearing Date: March 11, 2013
(Hearing Vacated)

#:38892
EXHIBIT 23
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#:15842

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NO. DEFENDANTS ALLEGEDLY
UNCONTROVERTED FACT
DCS RESPONSE
LLC, and Emanuel, both in his
individual capacity and as a
representative for Endeavor. See
Petrocelli Decl. 13-15, 21; DN
585 at 1-2, 6-14.
22 In 2003, Mr. Toberoff and Mr.
Emanuel, on the Siegels behalf,
recommenced settlement
negotiations with DC.
Defendants Evidence: AD, Ex. L,
Ex. T at 158:12-165:2, Ex. EE at
461-62
Disputed, to the extent this
disregards that, as the Ninth Circuit
rightly held, the parties had already
entered into a binding settlement
agreement on October 19, 2001.
Larson, 2012 WL 6822241, at *1.
Moreover, to the extent Toberoff is
disclosing legal advice he gave the
Siegels, he has effected a subject-
matter waiver concerning that advice
and must immediately produce all
communicationswhether he
claimed privilege over them before
or noton this subject matter. DN
205 at 14; FED. R. CIV. P. 502;
Chevron Corp. v. Pennzoil Co., 974
F.2d 1156, 1162-63 (9th Cir. 1992);
Weil v. Inv./Indicators, Research &
Mgmt., Inc., 647 F.2d 18, 23-25 (9th
Cir. 1981); U.S. v. Nobles, 422 U.S.
225, 239 (1975); In re Sims, 534
F.3d 117, 132 (2d Cir. 2008)
([F]airness considerations arise
when the party attempts to use the
privilege both as a shield and a
sword.); Century Aluminum Co. v.
AGCS Marine Ins. Co., 285 F.R.D.
468, 472 (N.D. Cal. 2012) (holding
that where party attempted to use
[privilege] as both a shield and a
#:38918
EXHIBIT 23
376
#:15843

- 27 -

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NO. DEFENDANTS ALLEGEDLY
UNCONTROVERTED FACT
DCS RESPONSE
sword, that is, to reveal a limited
aspect of privileged communications
in order to gain a tactical advantage
in litigation that the party has
waived the attorney-client privilege
and work product protection as to all
communications concerning the
same subject). Toberoffs knowing
choice to inject this issue into this
case, on an affirmative motion of his
own, compels a finding of waiver.
Id.
23 On October 8, 2004, Mr. Toberoff,
as attorney for the Siegels, filed the
Siegel v. Warner Bros.
Entertainment, Inc. case (C.D. Cal.
Case No. 04-CV-08400, ODW
(RZx) (Siegel)[,] which sought to
validate the Siegel Termination,
and to enforce the Siegels
copyright interests.
Defendants Evidence: FAC 91
Undisputed, although it disregards
that the Ninth Circuit held that the
parties entered into a binding
settlement agreement on October 19,
2001, and, as of that date, the Siegels
transferred whatever copyrights they
purported to hold to DC. Larson,
2012 WL 6822241, at *1; Case No.
CV-04-8400, DN 702; Case No. CV-
04-8776, DN 222.
24 On February 17, 2005, DC
counterclaimed in Siegel, that the
October 19, 2001 letter constituted
an enforceable contract.
Defendants Evidence: AD, Ex.
AA at 425-428
Undisputed. The Ninth Circuit has
held, as a matter of law, that the
parties did, in fact, enter into a
binding settlement agreement on
October 19, 2001. Larson, 2012 WL
6822241, at *1. DC has filed a
motion for summary judgment in the
Siegel cases seeking judgment on its
Fourth Counterclaim and dismissing
all of Larsons claims. Case No.
CV-04-8400, DN 702; Case No. CV-
04-8776, DN 222.
#:38919
EXHIBIT 23
377
#:15844

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CONCLUSION OF LAW DCS RESPONSE
based solely on rights equivalent to
those protected by the federal copyright
laws, it is preempted. Kodadek v. MTV
Networks, 152 F.3d 1209, 1213 (9th Cir.
1998). DCs state-law Sixth Claim
merely reformulates DCs Third Claim
(FAC 165-73) under the Copyright
Act and is premised on the same alleged
Copyright Act violation, which it
incorporates by reference. The claim is
therefore preempted. See Motown
Record Corp. v. George A. Hormel &
Co., 657 F. Supp. 1236, 1239 (C.D. Cal.
1987); Del Madera Properties v. Rhodes
& Gardner, Inc., 820 F.2d 973, 977 (9th
Cir. 1987).
(Opp. 21-22).

(c). DCs Sixth Claim is also
largely barred by the applicable four-
year statute of limitations. Cal. Bus. &
Prof. Code 17208. Unfair competition
claims begin to run on the date the
cause of action accrued, not on the date
of discovery. Karl Storz Endoscopy
Am., Inc. v. Surgical Techs., Inc., 285
F.3d 848, 857 (9th Cir. 2002). Insofar as
it is based on the 2001 and 2003 PPC
Agreements, which were cancelled in
2004, the claim is barred by the statute
of limitations.
DCs Sixth Claim is not time-barred, for
the reasons set forth in DCs opposition
(Opp. 19-21).

Dated: February 15, 2013


By: /s/ Daniel M. Petrocelli
Attorneys for Plaintiff DC Comics
OMM_US:71349970
#:38956
EXHIBIT 23
378
#:15845


A PROFESSIONAL CORPORATION

MARC TOBEROFF*
KEITH G. ADAMS
PABLO D. ARREDONDO*
DAVID HARRIS

* Also admitted in New York
22337 PACIFIC COAST HIGHWAY #348

MALIBU, CALIFORNIA 90265

TELEPHONE
(310) 246-3333

FACSIMILE
(310) 246-3101

[email protected]

February 27, 2013

Via E-Mail

Daniel Petrocelli
OMelveny and Myers LLP
Los Angeles, CA 90067

Re: Siegel v. Warner Bros. Ent., Inc., C.D. Cal. Case No. 04-CV-08400 ODW (RZx)

Dear Dan:

We disagree with the conclusions and characterizations in your letters of February 9, 2013.

What is the total dollar amount of the payment, inclusive of royalties that DC Comics is
purportedly prepared to tender, under the October 19, 2001 letter, to all parties, including
Laura Siegel Larson, and the estates of Joanne Siegel and Michael Siegel?

The forgoing is without prejudice to plaintiffs claims, defenses and remedies, all of which are
reserved.

Very truly yours,

Marc Toberoff
EXHIBIT 24
379
#:15846

BEIJING
BRUSSELS
HONG KONG
LONDON
LOS ANGELES
NEWPORT BEACH
NEW YORK
TELEPHONE (310) 553-6700
FACSIMILE (310) 246-6779
www.omm.com

SAN FRANCISCO
SHANGHAI
SILICON VALLEY
SINGAPORE
TOKYO
WASHINGTON, D. C.
OUR FILE NUMBER
905900-321
WRITERS DIRECT DIAL
(310) 246-6850
[email protected]
February 28, 2013
VIA E-MAIL

Marc Toberoff
Malibu, CA 90265
Dear Marc:
This responds to your letter of February 27, 2013.
In my letters of January 29, 2013 and February 12, 2013, I advised you that DC Comics
was prepared to tender payment under the October 19, 2001 agreement (Agreement) of all
amounts accrued through December 31, 2012, provided that Ms. Larson (for herself and on
behalf of the estate of Joanne Siegel) was prepared to perform under the Agreement pursuant to
its terms. Although it has been a month since my first letter, you have not responded to my
requests that you confirm Ms. Larson is prepared to do so. As a result, DC may continue to
suspend its performance in view of your clients ongoing repudiation of the Agreement.
In the absence of your clients repudiation, the total amount that DC Comics would be
prepared to tender to all parties (Laura Siegel Larson, the estates of Joanne Siegel and Michael
Siegel, and the Gang, Tyre law firm) under the Agreement, accrued through December 31, 2012,
is $21,557,352. As provided in paragraph C.10 of the Agreement, your clients have audit rights
with respect to any payments made by DC.
To reiterate, DC remains prepared to tender all amounts owing under the Agreement.
Accordingly, please let us know by close of business tomorrow if Ms. Larson is prepared to
perform under the Agreement.
Finally, while you reference letters I sent to you on February 9, 2013, I believe you are
referring to your own letter to me of that date, which I responded to on February 12, 2013.
EXHIBIT 25
380
#:15847
February 28, 2013, Page 2
including, without limitation, any rights of offset that may arise, all of which are hereby
reserved.
Very truly yours,

CC: Melvin Banchek
Gerald Berk
Donald Bulson
Richard Kendall
Arthur Levine
Bruce Ramer

EXHIBIT 25
381
#:15848

Siegel Superman/Superboy Opposition To Summary Judgment Filing March 4, 2013

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PLAINTIFFS OPPOSITION TO DC COMICS MOTION FOR SUMMARY JUDGMENT

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