Can the Siegels make a Superboy comic book if they want to?
Yes, but there are two big caveats to that. While the Siegels may own the COPYRIGHT to Superboy, DC still owns the TRADEMARK on the Superboy name. This means that, so long as DC continues to use the Superboy name in commerce (like have a mini-series titles “Tales of Superboys” just about kids with all sorts of wacky powers), they will continue to own the trademark on Superboy, and no one else can come out with a comic book titled Superboy, even if they own the copyright. This is why DC cannot have a comic called Captain Marvel, even though it owns the copyright to Captain Marvel (Shazam), because Marvel owns the trademark on Captain Marvel. In addition, DC owns a trademark on the stylized S that Superboy and Superman wear, so the Superboy comic would have to be titled something else and with a different costume! Not exactly a huge property.
Yes, but there are two big caveats to that. While the Siegels may own the COPYRIGHT to Superboy, DC still owns the TRADEMARK on the Superboy name. This means that, so long as DC continues to use the Superboy name in commerce (like have a mini-series titles “Tales of Superboys” just about kids with all sorts of wacky powers), they will continue to own the trademark on Superboy, and no one else can come out with a comic book titled Superboy, even if they own the copyright. This is why DC cannot have a comic called Captain Marvel, even though it owns the copyright to Captain Marvel (Shazam), because Marvel owns the trademark on Captain Marvel. In addition, DC owns a trademark on the stylized S that Superboy and Superman wear, so the Superboy comic would have to be titled something else and with a different costume! Not exactly a huge property.
