Spider-Man intellectual property case: What arguments would you make?

Lawyers for Disney and Stan Lee Media Inc. are locked in a web of lawsuits.

Stan Lee, who created Spider-Man, and his company claim they own the rights to the web-slinging superhero, while Disney says the comic book creation belongs to Marvel, which is owned by Disney.

In the latest of the two companies’ battles, Disney tried to stop production of  the Spider-Man show, “Broadway: Now & Forever,” saying it was never asked permission to use the character. Stan Lee fired back with a claim asking for his intellectual property rights to be recognized.

Disney then launched what it hopes will be the ultimate blow. It asked the Eastern District of Pennsylvania to dismiss Lee’s claim and stop Lee once and for all from asserting his intellectual property rights to the spidery savior.

Who will win? While we might not know that, we can be sure that the end result will not be as predictable as the finale of a comic book movie (or its massive box office earnings).

Here’s our question for you:

As a general counsel, what arguments would you make if you were working for Stan Lee? Disney?

Leave a comment below or email me.

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