Is DC Comics Losing Superman?

A new court ruling has awarded the heirs of Superman co-creator Jerry Siegel more stories than the original Action Comics #1 appearance.

The ruling comes after comics historian Denis Kitchen providing evidence that was first mentioned as a comment in response to a blog post at comic site Newsarama.com that more work than just the original Superman story was created prior to DC's purchase of publication rights to the character. Judge Stephen Larson didn't award the Siegel heirs everything that they had hoped for, but a large amount of the characters initial appearances have now gone to their side:

At the conclusion of this final installment regarding the publication history of and the rights to the iconic comic book superhero Superman, the Court finds that plaintiffs have successfully recaptured (and are co-owners of) the rights to the following works: (1) Action Comics No. 1 (subject to the limitations set forth in the Court's previous Order); (2) Action Comics No. 4; (3) Superman No. 1, pages three through six, and (4) the initial two weeks' worth of Superman daily newspaper strips. Ownership in the remainder of the Superman material at issue that was published from 1938 to 1943 remains solely with defendants.

Could this be the beginning of the end for DC Comics as the rights holder for The Man of Steel? Leave your comment below and let me know what you think!