Disney Marvel Goes to Court Over Super Hero Rights
Posted by Ashley McChesney on Mon, Jan 11, 2010 @ 01:26 PM
A federal lawsuit was filed in Manhattan by Marvel Worldwide Inc. asking a judge to invalidate 45 notices sent by the heirs of artist Jack Kirby to try to terminate Marvel's copyrights, effective on dates ranging from 2014 through 2019.
The heirs notified several companies last year that the rights to the characters would revert from Marvel to Kirby's estate.
The lawsuit said Kirby's work on the comics published between 1958 and 1963 were "for hire" and render the heirs' claims invalid.
The statement claimed Kirby was never properly compensated for his contributions to Marvel's universe of superheroes.
Marvel Entertainment, a subsidiary of The Walt Disney Co., sought a judge's order that the Kirby notices have no effect.
Read more here.
Between the lawyer expenses from settling licensing disputes and the price tag of four billion dollars to buy Marvel in the first place - it is starting to look like this may not have been the best investment for Disney to be involved in.
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