Disney sues comic book creator and heirs for rights to Mar…

Walt Disney has filed lawsuits against one of the comic book creators and heirs to other comic book creators behind superheroes like Iron Man and Spider-Man.

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With this, the entertainment group wants to end the discussion about who would have the rights to the Marvel characters.

Larry Lieber, who helped create the characters Iron Man, Thor and Ant-Man, among others, has been sued by Disney, which paid billions of dollars in 2009 for its acquisition of Marvel. Lieber is the brother of the cartoonist Stan Lee, who died a few years ago, who is also considered the great man behind the Marvel heroes. The group also focuses on the heirs of Steve Ditko and Donald L. Heck. They co-created Spider-Man and Black Widow respectively.

According to Disney, the suing parties recently indicated that they wanted the rights to the creations they made back. Ditko’s heirs referred to US law that makes it possible to reclaim rights once transferred to publishers after a certain period of time. Disney should therefore return Ditko’s rights to Spider-Man in June 2023.

Made in employment

The entertainment group opposes this and demands a ‘confirmation’ from the judge that the steps are invalid, simply because they would not have had any rights at all to the figures they created. Disney also emphasizes that the comic book makers worked for Marvel years ago, which edited their comics and paid them per page, for example. As a result, the rights would always have been with Marvel. Disney states that with the acquisition of Marvel it subsequently acquired all rights to the cartoon characters.

Marvel comics have almost all been filmed in recent years. This series turned out to be one of the most successful film series in Hollywood history. If Disney were to lose the business, it might have to share its profits from Marvel movies with the other rights holders. Years ago, a similar case played out between Disney and the heirs of comic book author Jack Kirby, who also worked for Marvel. A settlement was agreed with Kirby’s family in 2014.

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