DontHateTheGeek

Comic Book Fix: ‘Ghost Rider’ Creator Ordered to Pay Marvel $17K

Last Updated on Saturday, 11 February 2012 07:51 Written by david golbitz Friday, 10 February 2012 05:29

This week a federal judge ordered “Ghost Rider” creator Gary Friedrich to pay Marvel Comics $17,000 in damages, the culmination of a four year legal battle over ownership of the flame-headed, motorcycle-riding spirit of vengeance.

In 2007, shortly after the release of Marvel’s first “Ghost Rider” film, Friedrich sued Marvel, Columbia Pictures, Hasbro and other companies claiming the rights to the character had reverted back to him in 2001, because, Friedrich alleged, Marvel failed to register Ghost Rider’s first appearance, 1972′s Marvel Spotlight #5, with the U.S. Copyright Office. Friedrich claimed he created Ghost Rider in 1968 and, three years later, he agreed to publish the character through Magazine Management, which later became Marvel Entertainment. Under that original agreement, Marvel owned the copyright to the character’s origin story and any subsequent appearances.

Marvel countersued in 2010, seeking damages for Friedrich’s unauthorized sale of “Ghost Rider” merchandise online and at comic conventions.

The court sided with Marvel in December 2011, ruling that Friedrich relinquished ownership of the character when he endorsed checks from Marvel in 1971 and again in 1978 containing language that asserted he agreed to give up all rights to the character in exchange for the checks.

“Either of those contractual transfers would be sufficient to resolve the question of ownership,” U.S. District Judge Katherine Forrest wrote. “Together, they provide redundancy to the answer that leaves no doubt as to its correctness. … The law is clear that when an individual endorses a check subject to a condition, he accepts that condition.”

The settlement, agreed upon on two weeks before the Feb. 17 release of the big budget Ghost Rider sequel, stipulates that in addition to the $17,000 he now owes Marvel, Friedrich cannot ever sell anything related to Ghost Rider, nor can he say that he created the character for any form of gain or advertising. The 2007 “Ghost Rider” film earned more than $228 million worldwide.

In the days since the ruling was announced comic book community has shown an outpouring of support for the 69-year-old Friedrich, who by his own admission is unemployed and nearly penniless, with no way to come up with the $17,000 he now owes Marvel.

Friedrich is heartened, however, by the support he has received, and he intends to appeal the court’s ruling. He posted this message of gratitude on his Facebook page:

Since the various news agencies and websites have reported the ruling against me on my claims against Marvel in the Ghost Rider lawsuit, and the assesment of a $17,000 judgment against me and my company instead, I have read an amazing amount of comments in my support on the internet, and have received many messages of support directly. Although the reports of my employment situation and financial difficulties as well as problems with my health are unfortunately true, I want to let everyone in the comic book world, especially my supporters and fans of the Ghost Rider character which I invented, created, and wrote, that I am going to appeal the Court’s ruling and continue to fight this as long as I am able and that your support of me means more than you will ever know. I have heard your voices. I thank you with alll my heart, and I appreciate your thoughts and best wishes as I soldier on.

Comic book writer Steve Niles, a longtime supporter of creators’ rights, has taken to the Internet with gusto in an attempt to raise money for Friedrich in light of the court’s ruling.

“[Friedrich] and his lovely wife are broke and in need of our help,” Niles wrote on his blog. “I’ve seen the comics community come together and it’s a beautiful thing when it happens. Let’s do it again. Please donate whatever you can and help Gary pay his bills. Every little bit helps. He gave me some of my fondest childhood memories. The least we can do is thank him and help.”

Embedded within the blog post is a PayPal “Donate” button for those who with to contribute.

Many in the comic book community are calling on the multi-billion dollar Disney/Marvel juggernaut to forfeit the money it claims Friedrich owes, but despite the hammering Marvel is taking on the PR front, the company has not yet commented on the settlement or the court’s ruling, which you can see below.

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ArtsBeat Blog: Marvel Wins Court Battle Over Rights to Ghost Rider (artsbeat.blogs.nytimes.com)
Marvel Demands Money From Penniless Creator (graphicpolicy.com)
Writer loses Ghost Rider battle (bbc.co.uk)
Marvel wins NYC dispute over Ghost Rider rights (sfgate.com)
As We Watch the Watchmen, Another “Creator” Faces Ruin (forbes.com)

Tags: Comics, copyright, creator, Disney, Gary Friedrich, Ghost Rider, lawsuit, Marvel, Marvel Comics, Marvel Entertainment, Ownership, settlement, spirit of vengeance

This entry was posted on Friday, February 10th, 2012 at 5:29 PM and is filed under Comic Book Fix. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.