Who is Superman’s greatest threat? Evil genius Lex Luthor? General Zod from the Phantom Zone? The doppelganger Bizarro? Super-villain Brainiac? Kryptonite? Or is it intellectual property law?

In 2013, DC Comics and Warner Brothers have sought to reboot the Superman movie franchise with the new film Man of Steel.

Man of Steel Trailer The film is directed by Zac Synder and produced by Christopher Nolan, who successfully revived Batman with the Dark Knight trilogy. Snyder observes that Superman is a “cool mythological contradiction”. The director observes: “He’s incredibly familiar Americana and alien, exotic, bizarroland, but beautifully woven together.”

With the release of this marquee film, DC Comics and Warner Brothers have sought to protect intellectual property rights associated with Superman. This week, in the Federal Court of Australia, Justice Annabelle Bennett delivered a brilliant judgment in the case of DC Comics v Cheqout Pty Ltd. The decision demonstrated a mastery not only of intellectual property law, but also of philosophy and the history of superheroes. The case raises larger questions about trademark law, superhero franchises, and remix culture.