So, suck this up your hyperdrive! Straight from Deadline Hollywood:
http://deadline.com/2014/09/jack-kirby-marvel-settlement-lawsuit-supreme-court-hearing-841711/
Marvel & Jack Kirby Heirs Settle Legal Battle Ahead Of Supreme Court Showdown
Just days before the Supreme Court was set to take the matter into conference, Marvel and the family of Jack Kirby have settled their long running legal dispute over the comic legend’s rights to the characters he created or co-created. Here’s their joint statement:
“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.”
Widely viewed as one of the Kings of Comics, Kirby created or co-created some of the biggest names on the page and now on the big screen in the superhero blockbusters that Hollywood has profited from in recent years. However, while his often partner Stan Lee was a Marvel employee, Kirby was a work for hire and had no rights to Captain America, The Fantastic Four, the Hulk, Iron Man, Thor, the original X-Men and the plethora of other characters he played a pivotal part in bringing to life.
The settlement between Marvel/Disney is confidential, but you don’t have to be a Supreme Court Justice to know that if a deal was reached this late in the process, it must be a healthy one for the Kirbys – who were holding a lot of the cards for once. Further concluding the matter, the Kirbys today have also notified the SCOTUS that they now want their petition dismissed.
It was a long legal road for them and Marvel to get to today’s deal. After failing repeatedly in lower courts, Lisa Kirby, Neal Kirby, Susan Kirby and Barbara Kirby petitioned the High Court on March 21 for a hearing on the matter.
In their petition, the heirs wanted SCOTUS to rule in favor of their assertion that they had the right in 2009 to issue termination notices on 262 works that the comic legend helped create between 1958 and 1963.
Those 45 notices went out to Marvel/Disney, Fox, Sony, Universal and Paramount Pictures and others who’ve made films based on the artist’s characters under the provisions of the 1976 Copyright Act. Marvel sued in 2010, after failing to reach an agreement back then with the Kirby family to invalidate the termination notices. Jack Kirby himself passed away in 1994.
I'd guess it was probably cheaper for Marvel to settle than to pay lawyers for years to come. Plus it's a good public relations move. Personally, I don't believe the Kirby heirs were entitled to anything. They didn't create anything and dad sold the 'family silver' for what he believed was a fair price at the time. It was only after he saw others making money from things he'd created or co-created that bitterness and frustration got the better of him. If I sell something for a tenner and the guy I sold it to sells it a few years later for £300, I'm not really entitled to a share of the increased value. Same for Jack, sad 'though it was.
ReplyDeleteIt's going to be interesting to see whether some of the money DOES go toward a Kirby Museum of Comic Book Art as the family promised!
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