Jack Kirby’s name might not be well known among the public, but his characters have served as the basis for the most popular current movie franchise - the Marvel universe. His heirs had tried to win back the rights to the characters he created for Marvel during his tenure at the company, but a New York appeals court has ruled in Marvel’s favor.
According to Reuters, Kirby’s heirs said that Kirby did have the rights to Marvel characters that he created between 1958 and 1963, when he was a freelancer for the company. Working with Stan Lee, Kirby created the Hulk, Iron Man, the Fantastic Four and many other characters, helping Marvel become one of the top comic book companies in the country. Kirby’s heirs filed a lawsuit in 2009, the same year that Disney bought Marvel for $4 billion.
Marvel filed a countersuit in January 2010, saying that Kirby did not have the rights the Associated Press reports that in 2011, U.S. District Judge Colleen McMahon had ruled in Marvel’s favor, noting that Kirby did his work “for hire.”
The appeals court today agreed with McMahon’s ruling. “Kirby sat down to draw, then, it was not in the hope that Marvel or some other publisher might one day be interested enough in them to buy, but with the expectation, established through their ongoing, mutually beneficial relationship, that Marvel would pay him,” the court ruled.
U.S. Circuit Judge Robert Sack explained, “Marvel's inducement, right to supervise, exercise of that right, and creative contribution with respect to Kirby's work during the relevant time period is more than enough to establish that the works were created at Marvel's instance.”
Kirby died in 1994 and his work for both Marvel and DC remains influential in the comic book business. At Marvel, he is also credited for helping to create the Fantastic Four, the Hulk, the X-Men, Captain America and Thor.
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