Court Ruling Says Marvel Holds Rights, Not an Artist; New York Times, 7/28/11

Michael Cieply, New York Times; Court Ruling Says Marvel Holds Rights, Not an Artist:

"The ruling, by Judge Colleen McMahon of the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York, declares comics and characters created by Mr. Kirby — who helped give birth to the Fantastic Four, the Incredible Hulk and the X-Men, all of which now underlie valuable movie series — were works for hire under the Copyright Act of 1909, and cannot be reclaimed by the Kirby family."

Marvel Wins Copyrights Over Kirby Heirs; ComicBookResources.com, 7/28/11

ComicBookResources.com; Marvel Wins Copyrights Over Kirby Heirs:

"The decision is an undeniable victory for Marvel and their new parent company Disney who can now move forward with exploitation of the properties in full faith that they control all rights to the Marvel Universe. CBR legal expert Michael L. Lovitz of Lovitz IP Law put it this way: "Essentially, the Kirby heirs were unable to overcome the presumption that the works were 'work-for-hire' because they were created at Marvel's instance and expense.""