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<b><i>Online Extra</b></i> Circuit Dubious About Claim to Stan Lee's Characters
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit recently dealt a powerful punch to a lawyer whose client, a company founded by comic book legend Stan Lee, claimed to own the rights to Lee's iconic characters. During oral arguments, a panel of three appellate judges appeared skeptical about reviving a case brought by Stan Lee Media Inc., which has filed a barrage of lawsuits over the rights to characters that include Spider-Man, The Incredible Hulk, the X-Men, Iron Man and Thor, subjects of some of Hollywood's most profitable movies.
Although the case at issue was dismissed under the doctrine of res judicata , which precludes bringing claims that already have been decided, the panel raised a much more basic question: Why didn't Stan Lee Media list its valuable comic book rights as assets when it filed for bankruptcy in 2001?
In 1998, Lee founded Stan Lee Entertainment Inc., the predecessor to Stan Lee Media. Stan Lee Media claimed that Lee signed a 1998 agreement assigning all “past and future intellectual property rights” to the Colorado company. But a month later, Lee allegedly turned over those rights to his longtime employer, Marvel Enterprises Inc., now owned by The Walt Disney Co.
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