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Jack Kirby's Family Settles With Marvel Comics Over Copyright Issues - Bleeding Cool Comic Book, Movie, TV News

And now three days before the Supreme Court was to decide whether or not to hear the appeal of Jack Kirby’s estate against Marvel Comics – and possibly redefine the definition of work for hire across the entire entertainment industry, they have settled.

The statement issued reads,

“Marvel and the family of Jack Kirby have amicably resolved their legal disputes, and are looking forward to advancing their shared goal of honouring Mr. Kirby’s significant role in Marvel’s history.”
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No word on the settlement yet.
 
adgy-san said:
Jack Kirby's Family Settles With Marvel Comics Over Copyright Issues - Bleeding Cool Comic Book, Movie, TV News

No word on the settlement yet.
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From the comments section:

Without knowing anything about the actual settlement, my guess is that it's closer to something that gives the Kirby estate royalties for his 1960s creations similar to those other creators got for their creations from the 1980s onwards. Still a nice chunk of change but far from the controlling interest they were suing for.

I also think, ironically, the many amicus briefs were part of why the Kirby Estate would settle for less rather than gamble on the Supreme Court (and also why Marvel didn't want to risk it). Not because they helped the Kirby Estate's case (they didn't) but because they introduced a third, nuclear, option that neither party could stomach.

The Kirby Estate's case revolved around the claim that Kirby's case was unique and that everyone else's work was WFH while his wasn't (which would mean that if the Estate got rights to Hulk, Avengers, X-men, FF etc. then everyone else's work on those properties would also be blocked from use by Marvel). It is a bull**** claim for many, many reasons, but that was their argument.

The amicus brief, however, made the claim that Kirby's case wasn't unique and that nobody's work on ANY Marvel (or DC et al.) books at the time met with the WFH requirements. If that argument was succesful, it would atomize the rights involved in the Marvel Universe and practically every writer and artist at Marvel before 1978 could put their hand out or block some part of Marvel's back catalog. Which would also have the side-effect of making the Kirby Estate only one (though one of the largest) of the interested parties in what amounts to a class action suit for royalties. The potential take for the Kirby Estate could have been cut down to a hundredth, and that's after a lengthy and costly arbitration process.

It would have benefited a lot of OTHER people, though.

I don't see this as a vindication of the legal arguments for the Kirby Estate's case as much as risk management for the far more dangerous arguments in the amicus briefs. In that context, if the issue is creators' rights and one believes the WFH standard was exploitative and wrong, this settlement represents a clear and palatable loss of what is probably the last opportunity the comics industry will have to address this before the Supreme Court.

Do I think the Supreme Court would have picked up the case or that the Kirby Estate would have won, either along the lines of their argument or the emicus brief arguments? No. But I think Disney and Marvel may have been smart not to risk confronting the issue of the instance and expense test. Kirby alone? No problem.
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Sony May Reboot And Recast SPIDER-MAN With SINISTER SIX; VENOM Movie Reportedly Scrapped

The site claims to have been told that, "Sony is going to soft reboot Spider-Man with The Sinister Six, having a new actor playing a Spidey who works with the villains The Dirty Dozen style to take down a larger threat." This actually sounds similar to the Ultimate Six story arc from a few years back and would make sense, though recasting Andrew Garfield when he still has another picture left on his contract doesn't. The other plan? "To put Spider-Man on the shelf for four or five years and see if they can develop any of the side characters into their own franchises." This one seems more likely in some ways, especially as Sinister Six has taken the release date previously held by The Amazing Spider-Man 3 and a female-led spin-off is also in the works.

It's a pretty sad state of affairs when a character like Spidey needs to be benched after two mediocre movies though. The site adds that they're not sure whether all or any of these will come to pass, but changes are definitely in store. Oh, and one more thing for you to mull over; Venom is said to be "functionally dead again," giving everyone who said "It'll never get made!" something to boast about. How do you guys feel about this news? Sound off with your thoughts below.

Read more at Sony May Reboot And Recast SPIDER-MAN With SINISTER SIX; VENOM Movie Reportedly Scrapped
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