Jack Kirby estate, Marvel settle longtime dispute

WASHINGTON, Sept. 26 (UPI) -- Marvel and the estate of Jack Kirby, the creator of many of Marvel's recognizable characters, have settled their long-standing legal disputes just days before their case was due to be considered by the Supreme Court.

In a joint statement, the comic giant and Kirby's estate announced the resolution of a fight over legal ownership of characters such as Spider-Man, the X-Men, Captain America, Iron Man and others.

"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," the statement read.

The feud began after the Kirby family began sending termination notices to Marvel over those characters as a new slew of movies featuring Kirby-invented characters began pulling in billions for Marvel and its licensees, Sony, Fox and Universal.

The Kirby family seemed to be on the losing end -- a judge and then the 2nd Circuit Court of Appeals ruled the characters were created under "work made for hire" -- until the Supreme Court expressed interest in reviewing the case.

Terms of the deal were not released, so it is not clear whether Kirby's estate will walk away with a larger share of profits from use of his characters, promise of credit or the return of original art.