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Work-for-Hire Dispute Over Comic Books a Reminder of Drafting Considerations
As part of day-to-day operations, companies regularly enter into intellectual property assignments or “work-for-hire” arrangements with employees and contractors, often pursuant to form agreements that are not tailored to the particular engagement. However, decisions such as the recent opinion by the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York in Marvel Worldwide v. Kirby, 777 F. Supp. 2d 720 (S.D.N.Y. 2011), highlight the importance of carefully drafting provisions governing the transfer of rights in new works of authorship.
Background
The Marvel dispute began in September 2009, when the heirs of comic book artist Jack Kirby served Marvel with notices purporting to terminate Kirby's prior assignment of his copyrights in 45 comics Marvel published between 1958 and 1963. The timing of these notices ensured they would receive Marvel's attention. Disney had recently announced its agreement to acquire Marvel for approximately $4 billion, and the works covered by the termination notices included popular and valuable franchises such as The Amazing Spider-Man, The X-Men and The Incredible Hulk.
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