The battle for Spider-Man's legal ownership continues, with both Marvel Studios and Sony Pictures potentially losing the rights to the iconic superhero as early as 2023. Spider-Man has been one of the most instantly recognizable figures in pop culture ever since he debuted within the pages of Marvel Comics way back in 1962. Sony Pictures acquired the film rights for Spider-Man in the late 1990s, and have held onto the property with an iron grip ever since; in fact, Tom Holland's current iteration of the character is only permitted to appear in Disney's Marvel Cinematic Universe thanks to a deal between the two studios. Despite occasional disagreements, Marvel and Sony reached a mutual compromise that allows joint ownership of the character. However, the highly coveted rights are in dispute once again.
Spider-Man made his first appearance in Amazing Fantasy Vol. 1, issue 15, which was co-written by the late Stan Lee and Steve Ditko. Last month, Ditko's estate filed a notice of termination which would revert the ownership over Spider-Man back to Ditko's family. The estate's actions make use of a specific provision that allows the legal ownership of written works to revert from the publisher to the original author (or their heirs) after a set period of time. If the termination notices go through, Marvel and Sony could both effectively lose legal ownership over Spider-Man. The deal would be even more catastrophic for Marvel Studios, due to the fact that the rights for other iconic Marvel characters – such as Iron Man, Doctor Strange, and Falcon – are also in jeopardy.
THR now reports that Marvel is filing a lawsuit against the Ditko estate, alleging that "these blockbuster characters are ineligible for copyright termination as works made for hire" – a stipulation which would effectively render the Ditko estate's termination notices void. If Marvel's lawsuit fails, both Marvel and Sony could lose the rights to Spider-Man as early as June 2023. Check out the full excerpt below:
[Marvel's] complaints, which The Hollywood Reporter has obtained, come against the heirs of some late comic book geniuses including Stan Lee, Steve Ditko, and Gene Colan. The suits seek declaratory relief that these blockbuster characters are ineligible for copyright termination as works made for hire. If Marvel loses, Disney would be letting ownership of characters worth billions slip from its fingertips.
Last month, the administrator of Ditko’s estate filed a notice of termination on Spider Man, which first appeared in comic book form in 1962. Under the termination provisions of copyright law, authors or their heirs can reclaim rights once granted to publishers after waiting a statutory set period of time. According to the termination notice, Marvel would lose rights to its iconic character in June 2023.
From the moviegoing audience's perspective, the loss of so many iconic characters from the MCU may be highly disappointing. Indeed, with characters like Peter Parker (Tom Holland), Stephen Strange (Benedict Cumberbatch) and Sam Wilson (Anthony Mackie) set up to become the future of the MCU, their sudden loss may prove difficult to navigate from a narrative standpoint. However, it's important to consider the Ditko estate's point of view as well. Their termination notices don't overstep any legal boundaries; they are perfectly allowed to file such notices if they feel that Marvel has not fairly compensated the estate for Ditko's creations. Disney's troubling history with unfair compensation for authors certainly doesn't paint the company in a sympathetic light.
Regardless, Spider-Man fans just can't catch a break when it comes to their favorite hero's cinematic future. Although Marvel and Sony find themselves on the same side against Ditko's estate, the two studios had their own share of conflicts which nearly resulted in Tom Holland's Spider-Man being ejected from the MCU. Fortunately, the studios were able to put aside their differences so that Holland's Spider-Man could continue to exist alongside his fellow Avengers. Hopefully the studio is able to work out a similar deal that keeps all parties content – one that allows Marvel and Sony to continue to use the iconic webslinger in their films, but also fairly compensates the Ditko estate for their contributions to Marvel lore.
Source: THR