He says that the authors were freelancers and independent contractors, and that they assigned their copyrighted work to the publisher in exchange for payment. Toberoff argues that the comics were not done on a work-for-hire basis, as the law was understood at the time. Under the Copyright Act 1976, heirs are permitted, in certain circumstances, to terminate the grant of a license or transfer to a copyrighted work - such as a comic book - via a properly executed notice. Marvel is seeking a declaration that it holds the valid copyrights to the disputed characters. Hart-Rico and Rico III are the heirs of Don Rico. Solo and Colan are the children of Gene Colan. Patrick Ditko is the brother of Steve Ditko.
Dettwiler, and Nanci Solo and Erik Colan. Ditko, Michelle Hart-Rico and Buz Donato Rico III, Keith A. Marvel filed the suits in New York and Los Angeles against Lieber, Patrick S. “Since these were works made for hire and thus owned by Marvel, we filed these lawsuits to confirm that the termination notices are invalid and of no legal effect,” Petrocelli said in a statement. Marvel’s lawyers, led by Daniel Petrocelli, say the five new cases present “virtually identical circumstances.” Marvel points to the Kirby case, in which the federal courts sided with Marvel, finding that the characters were made under work-for-hire arrangements. In the lawsuits, Marvel argues that the characters were created under “work for hire” arrangements, and that the heirs have no valid claim to the copyrights. Strange), Don Heck (Iron Man, Black Widow, Hawkeye), Don Rico (Black Widow), and Gene Colan (Captain Marvel, Falcon, Blade).
Toberoff represents Larry Lieber, the brother of Stan Lee and a co-creator of Thor, Iron Man, and Ant Man as well as the estates of Steve Ditko (Spiderman, Dr. “This is the deep dark secret of the comic book industry, if not now the entire entertainment industry, due to the explosion of these superhero franchises,” Toberoff told Variety in an interview.
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