Work for Hire

Three of Hollywood's biggest industry guilds have submitted an amicus brief in support of the Kirby estate in the case of Lisa Kirby V. Marvel Characters. The brief urges the Supreme Court to hear the case, as the guilds believe the outcome will have major implications for the film industry.

The Supreme Court may take up the case of Lisa Kirby v. Marvel Characters to determine whether or not works produced by Jack Kirby and published by Marvel between 1958 and 1963 were work-for-hire. The case could allow the Kirby estate to terminate Marvel's copyright claims to several of its best-known characters, including Captain America, Thor, the Hulk, the Avengers, the Fantastic Four, and the X-Men.

Attorney Marc Toberoff continues to be a very busy man. In between two different court appearances for different lawsuits surrounding the rights to Superman, he has appeared before a three-judge panel to argue for the overturning of an earlier ruling that Marvel Entertainment owns all of Jack Kirby's creations for the company outright...