The heirs of Jack Kirby, the legendary comic book artist who helped create superheroes like The Incredible Hulk and Captain America, settled a long-running rights dispute with Marvel late last week.
According to The New York Times, Kirby's four children — Barbara, Lisa, Neal, and Susan — began their dispute in 2009. Last year, they lost their appeal to the Second Circuit court in New York when the court unanimously agreed with a lower court ruling that said Kirby's output had been "works for hire" and that, because of that, the family could not reclaim the rights.
The U.S. Supreme Court was reportedly prepared to consider hearing the case on Monday, but the issue was ultimately settled out of court on Friday. Marvel, which is owned by the Walt Disney Company, released a statement finalizing the end of the dispute.
"Marvel and the family of Jack Kirby have amicably resolved their legal disputes and are looking forward to advancing their shared goal of honoring Mr. Kirby's significant role in Marvel's history," said the statement.
Marc Toberoff, an attorney for the Kirby family, and Neal Kirby did not respond to requests for comment, and the financial details of the deal were not disclosed.
A legal victory for the family of Kirby — who died in 1994 — would have had far-reaching repercussions, as Disney, Sony, Fox, and Universal all have multiple assets from movies to theme parks based on characters Kirby created or helped create, including Thor and the X-Men.
The Washington Post reported that seven films based on Marvel characters have each grossed more than a half-billion dollars worldwide.
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