It seems the estate of comics legend Jack Kirby is set to take a page out of the on-going Siegel lawsuit, as it was revealed today that 45 notices of copyright termination have been sent from the estate to Marvel/Disney, declaring their intent to regain the copyrights to many of the Marvel mainstays that the deceased legend, who passed in 1994, co-created. Kirby is credited with the co-creation of many of Marvel's top talents, including Captain America, Iron Man, Thor, The Avengers, the X-Men, and the Fantastic Four. Most of these characters have new films in the works, just in case things weren't interesting enough.
According to the New York Times, the notices that were sent to the publisher stated the estate would be seeking to regain their copyrights as soon as 2014. The Kirby estate has even gone so far as to hire the same legal firm that the Siegels used in their successful bid to regain partial copyright of Superman, the Los Angeles based Toberoff & Associates. Surely their experience with a similar case may prove to be beneficial to the Kirby's cause.
However, the real complications lie in Marvel's never-ending maze of copyright agreements. Certain properties are owned by specific studios for their film versions, while other studios simply hold distribution agreements, as well as toy licensing and theme park agreements with other companies. It's too early to tell what such a lawsuit would entitle the Kirby's as far as income from the various agreements goes, but it will surely be a nice, complicated document that the lawyers of both parties will have to sift through.
Copyright is one of the most important and complex issues that comes with the territory, and as these characters age into their twilight years, I expect we'll be seeing many more similar cases with the estates of legendary creators looking to keep the creations in the family. That, or just trying to cash in. Either way, we'll keep you updated on the wonderful world of copyright acquisiton.
