The Disney company, which owns the Marvel comics world, is suing the family of iconic comic book creator Stan Lee, in order to preserve the rights to some of its famous cartoon heroes.
The Hollywood Reporter reports that among the superheroes that Disney is interested in retaining control over are Iron Man, Spider-Man, The Ant Man, Thor, The Black Widow and others.
According to documents obtained by The Reporter, the lawsuit includes Lee's heirs, as well as creators Steve Ditko and Gene Cullen.
Disney demands an official declaration that the use of the characters of the said superheroes will not be subject to copyright claim.
This is a lawsuit that carries with it a certain risk, as the company can be sentenced to joint ownership of those characters, who together are worth billions of dollars - as proven by their use in the Marvel cinematic universe.
The manager of Steve Ditko's estate sent a threat in a lawsuit on the subject as early as last August, due to what he believes was an illegal use of Spider-Man's character.
Meanwhile, the company set up by Stan Lee is facing another lawsuit, which was filed against them by comic book writer Larry Lieber last May.
Lieber was vital in the creation of heroes like Iron Man, Spider-Man and later in the ’60s and’ 70s.
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