Warner Bros and DC have lost certain rights to "Superman" today. In 2013, they might lose the Man of Steel altogether.

In an ongoing California court battle over the Superman characters, the courts have awarded the family of the superhero's co-creator, Jerry Siegel, rights to additional works, including the first two weeks of the daily Superman newspaper comicstrips, as well as portions of early Action Comics and Superman comicbooks. This is potentially hurtful news for Warner Bros, who don’t just produce TVs “Smallville”, but are said to be quietly planning a reboot of the film series with James McTiegue (“V for Vendetta”) at the helm.

So what does this mean?

Well, it means the Siegels now control depictions of :
- Superman’s origins from the planet Krypton
- His parents Jor-L and Lora
- Superman as the tot Kal-L
- The launching of the infant Superman into space by his parents as Krypton explodes and his landing on Earth in a fiery crash.

…. And any new “Superman” film can no longer feature any of the above. You mightn’t think it’s a huge deal, but these are all very iconic images from the world of “Superman” – and, in the case of Jor-L, a very important character to the series. If the plan is indeed to reboot the movie series… chances are, the character’s origins, and an appearance (or a mention in the very least) by the Man of Steel’s parents, would’ve been on the cards.

Variety says that while ownership of the Man of Steel is one point of all this legal activity, the real issue is money and how much Warner Bros. and DC owe the Siegels from profits they collected from Superman since 1999, when the heirs legally took back half of the Superman copyright.

"Warner and DC Comics are pleased that the court has affirmed that the vast majority of key elements associated with the Superman character that were developed after Action Comics No. 1 are not part of the copyrights that the plaintiffs have recaptured and therefore remain solely owned by DC Comics," said Warner Bros. and DC in a statement.

They’re not smiling on the inside though.

However, copyright law dictates that full ownership of Superman goes back to the Siegels in 2013. That will give them the chance to set up Superman pics, TV shows and other projects at another studio.

If they want to get a new "Superman" or even "Justice League" pic featuring the superhero, Warner Bros. and DC will be forced to go into production by 2011.