By James Wray Jan 20, 2005, 22:27 GMT
"I am very gratified by the Judge's decision although, since I am deeply fond of Marvel and the people there, I sincerely regret that the situation had to come to this," said Mr. Lee.
Mr. Lee was initially employed by Marvel in 1939, and a 60-plus year association between the two parties followed. During those years, much of Marvel's business was built on products Mr. Lee co-created, which include "The Incredible Hulk," "X-Men," "Daredevil," and "Spider-Man."
Mr. Lee entered into a profit-sharing venture with Marvel for the utilization of his characters and his name, in return for a 10% participation in the profits derived from productions using Marvel characters in television or movies, including the Spider-Man films and television shows.
Mr. Lee's claim alleged that Marvel failed and refused to honor its commitments to him, despite reaping enormous benefits from his creations. Even with the success of the Spider-Man movies, Marvel did not make any payment to Mr. Lee in accordance with this provision; the company said that it did not receive any profits from these productions. Accordingly, Mr. Lee sought damages for a breach of the agreement.
According to Judge Sweet's decision, issued on January 17, 2005, Marvel must share with Mr. Lee 10% of any profit participation or benefit it receives from movies, television, or other ancillary uses of Mr. Lee's characters, including certain merchandising.
"We are very grateful that the Court decided to recognize the contributions of this creative genius and that his rights have been vindicated," said Howard Graff, Partner in the Litigation & Dispute Resolution Group of Dickstein Shapiro Morin & Oshinsky LLP.
Lee stands to get 10% of any profit from Marvel's series of movies based on his characters, though not 3rd party merchandise deals, a jury is set to rule on that soon. Meantime Marvel say they will appeal the judgment.
Rather bizarrely Lee still works for Marvel on a $1 million a year contract.
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