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Jack Kirby Heirs Reclaim Marvel/Disney Rights
lbalbalba writes "Heirs to comic book legend Jack Kirby sent 45 notices of copyright termination to Marvel Entertainment, prospective Marvel buyer Disney, Sony Pictures, Universal Pictures, 20th Century Fox, Paramount Pictures, and others studios that that hold licensed media rights to Marvel characters. Some rights could revert to the heirs as soon as 2014, for characters that are among the hottest in Hollywood: The Incredible Hulk, The Mighty Thor, Iron Man, Spider-Man, The Avengers, and others. Among other things the heirs' demand could cause problems for Disney's as yet unconsummated purchase of Marvel."
The scary thing about Stan Lee is that he believes his own bullshit, and he never fucking shuts up about how great he and "his" creations are.
Heaven forbid Mickey fall into the public domain where anyone could use him to create fresh new stories. The horror. The horror.
The character design is trade-marked.
When Steamboat Willie comes into the public domain you get to write and publish derivatives based on the characters and story of Steamboat Willie
and only Steamboat Willie.
You do not get the Mouse of the Sorcerer's Apprentice.
You do not get The Phantom Blot.
Heaven forbid that the geek should be encouraged to contribute new stories based on his own characters and settings. To throw away the crutch of fan fiction.