Walt Disney Co’s Marvel and the estate of artist Steve Ditko are locked in a copyright dispute over rights to superheroes Spider-Man and Doctor Strange. Marvel has argued that Ditko co-created the characters on the company’s behalf, while Ditko’s estate has argued that he developed them independently. Representatives for both parties did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
Under the Copyright Act, a creator can terminate a copyright assignment after decades under certain circumstances. Marvel has argued that the case record showed Ditko worked under Marvel editor-in-chief Stan Lee “subject to Lee’s editorial discretion,” and compared the lawsuit to a similar case it won at a U.S. appeals court in 2013 involving illustrator Jack Kirby. Ditko’s estate has argued that he was a freelancer for Marvel and could not have legally created the works on behalf of the Marvel “shell companies” that registered the copyrights.
The court is yet to make a decision on the case.