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Civil Procedure Keyed to Yeazell
Marvel Characters, Inc. v. Kirby
Citation:
No. 11-3333 (2d Cir. 2013)Facts
Jack Kirby, considered one of the most influential comic book artists of all time, worked as a freelancer for Marvel Comics between 1958 and 1963. During this period, he created numerous iconic comic book characters and stories. Kirby was not a formal employee of Marvel; he was paid per page for accepted work, set his own hours, worked from home, and received no benefits or expense reimbursements. Marvel, primarily through Stan Lee, assigned work to Kirby and had the right to direct and supervise his output, including the power to reject or request revisions to his drawings. The parties worked under what was known as the “Marvel Method,” where Lee would provide Kirby with a brief outline or synopsis, Kirby would draw the story, and Lee would later add dialogue. In 2009, Kirby’s children served Marvel with notices to terminate the copyright transfers under section 304(c) of the Copyright Act, seeking to reclaim rights to 262 works created by their father. Marvel filed suit seeking a declaration that the works were “made for hire” and thus ineligible for termination.
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