Copyright dispute around Avengers: Marvel sued Families of Steve Ditko & Stan Lee

Marvel is currently in a litigation with the survivors of their most famous comic creators. The families of Gene Colan, Stan Lee, Don Heck, Don Rico and Steve Ditko made a right use in relation to the American Copyright Protection Act, which allows them to reclaim figure rights at some of the Avengers from the Group. The Copyright Termination Right has been created because authors, which the rights to their creation to larger companies, are financially worse and thus in an unfavorable negotiation situation, which leads to many works at low conditions in the hands of large companies.

After the expiration of a deadline, which after leaving the rights is a minimum of 35 years, it should be possible for the authors or their heirs to reclaim them. However, a time window of five years must be complied with and the company is sufficiently informed of the project.

Depending on the period in which the copyright was originally assigned and the details of the respective contract, other statutes and deadlines attack. In the case of the works of Ditko, Lee, Colan and Co. the intention of their offspring was communicated in due time, which means that a share of rights in June 2023 would have to be assigned to them. Because Spider-Man and Doctor Strange is not only individual characters, but the Marvel s brands are used in a variety of capacities and media and the law engages only in the United States, but Disney continues to control. The copyright would therefore be after completion termination at both parties. With this, Disney would have to decline a not insignificant part of the revenue to the heirs.

However, Marvel is that the claim is unlawful and refers to a clause in the Termination Right, which prohibits the reclaim, should be a work that was carried out in an employment relationship or to a specific order. If the draftsman and authors have specifically hired specifically to create the said figures according to Marvel s specifications, the copyright would basically be at the company and not with the david artists or their descendants.

The determination shows itself a more complicated, as it may appear at first glance. Especially at Marvel has always been working for a very special, collaborative method, in which ideas are thrown by several pages before the artists work out the details and actually create the figures. This already caused several times for dispute over individual works. So Gary Friedrich s request was requested to return the rights to the figure Ghost Rider, also challenged by Marvel. However, the parties agreed extrajudicial.

In addition to the families of the deceased comic legends, Larry preferred, etc. Co-creator of the figures Ant-Man, Thor and Iron Man, the copyright termination and must also be around with a complaint of Disney.

Sources: Hollywood Reporter, Copyright.gov

From Christian Fussy editor 28.09.2021 at 12:50