Marvel reaches an out-of court settlement with the comic book legend in a legal battle over copyrights of superhero characters like Thor, Spider-Man and X-Men.
- Sep 27, 2014
AceShowbiz - Marvel has resolved a longtime dispute with the family of Jack Kirby who created some of the studio's most famous characters like Thor, Captain America, Hulk, Spider-Man and X-Men. The studio reached an undisclosed settlement with the estate of the late artist before the latter was set to settle it before Supreme Court.
"Marvel and the family of Jack Kirby have amicably resolved their legal disputes and are looking forward to advancing their shared goal of honoring Mr. Kirby's significant role in Marvel's history," read a joint statement by both parties.
Kirby's children have been involved in a legal war with Marvel since 2009 when the studio was bought by Disney for $4 billion. They were seeking to reclaim the rights of the superhero characters the comic book legend created, based on a provision of copyright law that, under certain conditions, allows authors or their heirs to regain ownership of a product after a given number of years.
In July 2011, a U.S. District Judge Colleen McMahon ruled in favor of Marvel, agreeing with the studio that Kirby's arts were "works for hire" under the Copyright Act of 1909. The family also lost their case in an August 2013 ruling by the 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in New York.
