Marvel has filed multiple lawsuits to preserve the rights to Avengers such as Spider-Man and Thor. The Hollywood Reporter writes, an issue that could cost the company billions of dollars and many depend on it.
Marvel has released comics for over eighty years. As a result, Marvel Studios has thousands of characters and stories to turn into movies and series.
Marvel fights for rights
That’s cool, but this rich history also has a downside. Characters like Spider-Man and Iron Man have been circling the company’s comics for so long that Marvel is in danger of losing the rights to such characters.
In fact, Marvel is currently pursuing multiple lawsuits to retain control of Iron Man, Spider-Man, Ant-Man, Black Widow and other Avengers.
Cases were raised against the descendants of famous comedians such as Stan Lee, Steve Ditko and Jane Colan. While working at Marvel, they came up with all the superheroes who are still very loved in movies, series and games.
Copyright Law
Under the termination provisions of the Copyright Act, authors or their heirs can reclaim rights once they are granted to publishers after a statutory waiting period.
In August, the estate manager Ditko introduced the so-called Termination notice In the movie Spider-Man, which made his debut in Marvel Comics in 1962.
As Marvel, you can even lose (part of) control of your most iconic and iconic characters. Although it is worth billions. According to the termination notice, Marvel must relinquish the rights to its superhero in June 2023.
And so it goes on for a while: Larry Lieber (Iron Man, Thor) and Don Rico (Black Widow) have already made requests.
Damage is still somewhat limited
Attorney Dan Petrucelli is representing Marvel and Disney in lawsuits filed this month by the comics giant. Not coincidentally, Petrocelli previously successfully represented DC in the fight against the creators of Superman.
To be clear, it’s not as if Disney and Marvel could completely lose their superheroes. If the descendants of the aforementioned comic book authors win, Disney will have to share the rights to the respective superheroes.
In other words, if Marvel Studios makes a new Thor movie, the company will have to share the revenue generated with the creator’s descendant. In any case, Disney and Marvel want to put an end to this through various lawsuits.
By the way, these laws only apply to the United States. Marvel and Disney, if they lose, will remain in complete control of superheroes internationally.
for their private account
If it’s up to Marvel, there’s no need to get that far. The company claims that superheroes are designed and created as “Work for pay.” As a result, the logic surrounding the expiration of rights will not hold, because the work was delivered by independent translators and according to the famous. Marvel method: Comfortable and creative environment in which everyone contributes. It is not an environment in which there is one person credits can claim.
According to the law, Marvel will be the creator, not the independent itself. Stan Lee may have invented Spider-Man, but Marvel is the rightful owner.
Ethical aspect
But yes, at the same time, it is ethical to say the slightest weakness that a company like Marvel and Disney can make billions from a character, while the person who came up with a great idea for it gets a fraction of the turnover.
At the same time, as a writer, you are entering into a contract. It’s not for nothing that Marvel and DC have always won these kinds of cases in court in the past.
from bets Huge though: If Marvel loses, Disney will suddenly have to share ownership of characters worth billions. Continued!
Want to read more about these things? The Hollywood Reporter has a comprehensive article on this topic ready.
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Bye Spidey? Marvel files multibillion-dollar lawsuit to keep Avengers