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[Spike Spiegel]

http://www.newsarama.com/film/090920-kirby-copyright-marvel.html

Kirby Heirs Notify Marvel, Disney Intent to Reclaim Rights
By Michael Doran

Heirs to comic book legend Jack Kirby sent 45 notices of copyright termination to Marvel Entertainment, prospective Marvel buyer Disney, Sony Pictures, Universal Pictures, 20th Century Fox, Paramount Pictures, and others studios that that hold licensed media rights to Marvel characters, this according to a Sunday afternoon report published on the New York Times website.

The Times reports the legal notices expressed an intent to regain copyrights to some Kirby co-creations as early as 2014, this according to a statement from Toberoff & Associates, a Los Angeles firm that helped win a court ruling last year returning a share of the copyright in Superman to heirs of the character’s co-creator, Jerry Siegel.

Mr. Toberoff declined to elaborate on the statement reached for comments Sunday by the Times. According to the newspaper, a Marvel spokesperson had no comment, but Disney replied in a statement, “The notices involved are an attempt to terminate rights seven to 10 years from now, and involve claims that were fully considered in the acquisition.” Fox, Sony, Paramount and Universal reportedly had no comment.

As the Times reports points out, Disney's acquisition of Marvel is far from a done deal and must still be approved by Marvel shareholders. Wall Street is apparently already speculating that due to a complicated array of various rights agreements, shareholders may worry that Disney will face difficulty immediately exploiting Marvel's most valuable intellectual property.

Cited in the story is the fact that Sony holds the film rights to Spider-Man in perpetuity.

The proposed Disney deal could give creators or their heirs new reason to exploit United States copyright law to stake a claim.

Under U.S. law, an author or his or her heirs can begin a process to regain copyrights a certain period of years after the original grant. While the report did not cite what characters were cited in the termination notices, if Kirby’s family were to gain the copyright to a co-created character like the Fantastic Four or the Incredible Hulk, they could become entitled to a share of profits from films or other properties featuring the character, or obtain the rights to sell characters independently of Marvel, Disney, or the various studios that have licensed the Marvel characters.

 

[LiveFromKyoto]

Wasn't the DC stuff based on the creators having been too young to sign over the rights or something? Kirby was getting on by the time the silver age started.

 

[Viewt]

It'd be great if this actually happened - Jack Kirby got fucked over to near Bill Finger-esque proportions.

That being said, there's no way. Marvel's dealt with this kind of thing (just as DC has) time and time again, and I don't believe anything has really come of it, aside from more substantial royalties or a similar compromise. And if Disney decides to put its muscle into this, then the Kirby estate is even more out of its league.

 

[Loxley]

As /Film has pointed out, if this suit actually goes any where, it more than likely won't have any effect on Marvel's trademarks with the characters. It more or less will have to do with royalties that the Kirby estate has been snubbed.

Although one thing to keep in mind, the Kirby Estate's lawyer for this suit won the Siegel family some Superman rights/royalties a few years back (yes, different from the recent scuffle they had with DC).

 

[Spike Spiegel]

Wasn't the DC stuff based on the creators having been too young to sign over the rights or something? Kirby was getting on by the time the silver age started.

I don't think the lawsuit has much to do with their ages, just whether or not they were doing "work for hire" when they created Superman. That lawsuit also started with a copyright termination notice, then talks between the Siegel estate and Warner Bros broke down, the Siegels sued, WB countersued, and here we are.

 

[RunWhiteBoyRun]

I think the main thing it will come down to is can Kirby show that the characters/art were created before signing his work for hire contract.

 

[Megadragon15]

Wasn't the DC stuff based on the creators having been too young to sign over the rights or something? Kirby was getting on by the time the silver age started.

There is a Kirby co-creation(with Joe Simon) that dates back to the Golden Age: Captain America from 1941. Edit: Apparently Captain America is not eligible for a copyright claim.