Ex-Movie Producer-Turned-IP Lawyer Battles Disney in Superhero Fight
A lawyer who once made the low-budget film Zombie High has a new career as an intellectual property litigator now battling Disney on behalf of the heirs of a comic book artist.
Lawyer Marc Toberoff “could be a movie character himself,” the New York Times reports. “Alternately described by lawyers who have worked with him as a brilliant crusader for the little guy and a Svengali who asserts a high degree of control over clients, he has evolved from his early years as a producer of low-budget films into his job as a high-stakes litigator with multiple wins.”
Toberoff represents the heirs of artist Jack Kirby, who have sued Marvel Entertainment and its new owner the Disney Co. as part of an effort to reclaim ownership of “a trove of characters,” the story says. Kirby was creator or co-creator of characters including Iron Man, X-Men, The Fantastic Four, The Incredible Hulk and Spider-Man, according to the complaint (PDF posted by THR, Esq.).
Toberoff claims Kirby created his characters on a freelance basis, rather than as works for hire, and he may reclaim their ownership under a provision of the copyright law that gives authors or their heirs such rights after a given number of years.
The law creates a 56-year threshold for ending older copyrights and a shorter period for newer works, according to the Times.
Toberoff’s suit claims the heirs should profit from new works involving Kirby’s material, including movies such as X-Men Origins: Wolverine. Marvel has licensed rights to many of the characters to rival studios, further complicating the suit, the Times says.
