Disney has agreed to end its court battles with four artists who attempted to reclaim copyright interests in Marvel superheroes they co-created including Iron Man, Ant-Man and Captain Marvel, according to federal court filings. The filings said Disney would drop its lawsuits against, Stan Lee’s brother, Larry Lieber and the estates of Don Heck, Gene Colan and Don Rico with prejudice, which means they cannot be refiled. A Disney spokesperson and Marc Toberoff, attorney for the artists, said they had reached an “amicable resolution.” Disney has not settled with the estate of comic book artist Steve Ditko, which is seeking to reclaim his share of copyrights in Marvel Comics Spider-Man and Doctor Strange.
Under the Copyright Act, a creator can terminate a copyright assignment after decades in certain circumstances. Disney sued the artists, who wrote and illustrated Marvel comics in the 1950s, 60s and 70s, after they sought to terminate and reclaim copyrights related to several superheroes. Disney had argued the artists’ contracts were “work for hire”, and that prevented them from being able to recapture the copyrights.
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