MovieSuperheroes The Avengers are known to be a major source of income for Marvel (and through parent company Disney). So it should come as no surprise that Marvel does its best to retain the rights to these characters. The company is now filing lawsuits against the inheritors of the original writers and illustrators. That reports the Hollywood Reporter.
Currently, the rights to characters from The Avengers – such as Iron Man, Spider-Man, Dr. String, Thor, and Black Widow – owned by Marvel. But soon they may be able to lose it in part. In the United States, there is a law that states that the heirs of the original creators can restore the copyrights of these characters after a certain period of time. For example, the heirs of the creator of Spider-Man Steve Ditko have already submitted an application to restore the rights to this character in June 2023.
But Marvel isn’t just letting that happen. This is why lawsuits have been filed against Ditko’s heirs, as well as lawsuits by Stan Lee and Jane Colan, among others. According to Marvel, the heirs cannot claim these rights, because the characters were made on behalf of Marvel. The company refers to the so-called “Marvel Method,” a kind of collaboration in which artists were presented with ideas and then had to fill in the details themselves. According to this logic, the copyright will not lie with the artists themselves, but with Marvel.
If Marvel loses the lawsuits, it will not lose all rights in one fell swoop. However, they must then share the rights (and proceeds) with the heirs.
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