Commencing in January, 2007, a colossal legal battle began over Stan Lee's creator's rights to "all the creative universe" of claims and rights Stan Lee owned as of October 15, 1998.
Those rights were used by Stan Lee to capitalize his new dot com, Stan Lee Media, so that it could attain a market capitalization of $350 million as a NASDQ company, SLEE, in February, 2000.
When Stan Lee Media became insolvent with the dot com meltdown of December, 2000, Stan Lee, as Chairman and largest shareholder, placed the company in Chapter 11 Debtor in Possession Bankruptcy protection where he controlled it until its dismissal in November, 2006- the first time the shareholders were restored the ability to control the company since 2000.
Days before Lee directed the bankruptcy filings on February 11, 2001, his lawyer and business partner Arthur Lieberman wrote a letter to SLM stating Lee was terminating his Employment Contract with SLM which had the Rights Assignment attached to it. The principal asset of Stan Lee Media is now the subject of a legal wrangling the likes of which even Hollywood has never seen. Its estimated that since December, 2006 Stan Lee, Marvel Entertainment and Stan Lee Media shareholders have spent more than $7 million in litigation fees and expenses before reaching the discovery phase of the litigation! That unprecedented pre-discovery amount indicates the stakes involved.
The New York, Colorado and California litigation over Stan Lee's creator's rights has now been augmented by a new shareholder's action filed in Los Angeles Federal Court in April, 2009, by Investment Banker Jose Abadin (see below).
After Federal Judge Stephen Wilson ruled on January 20, 2009, that Stan Lee and his new public company POW/QED Entertainment illegally took character properties from the Estate of Stan Lee Media, and then notified the US Copyright Office of the illegal copyright assignments, Jose Abadin stepped in on behalf of all Stan Lee Media Inc shareholders to judicially determine the continued validity of Stan Lee's Rights Assignment to Stan Lee Media in October, 1998, a month before Stan Lee signed a new Rights Assignment with Marvel Entertainment.
The suit filed by Abadin will judicially determine who owns Stan Lee's name, likeness and all co-creator's rights he ever owned as of October 15, 1998.
Jose Abadin (On Behalf of All Stan Lee Media Inc Shareholders) vs. Stan Lee
Abadin v. Stan Lee Complaint
Monday, April 13, 2009
Monday, April 6, 2009
Federal Judge's Ruling On Illegal Transfer of The Accuser and Drifter by Stan Lee to POW Entertainment Triggers New Federal Suit Against Lee
On February 20, 2009, Federal District Court Judge Stephen Wilson notified the US Copyright Office to advise that he had issued an unappealed final ruling on January 20, 2009 that Stan Lee and POW Entertainment had illegally transferred assets from the bankruptcy Estate of Stan Lee Media to POW Entertainment. This notification of a federal court ruling confirmed that false copyright assignments had been made by principals of POW Entertainment without the knowledge or approval of a federal bankruptcy court.
More striking is the fact that POW Entertainment heralded the acquisition and use of the Stan Lee Media characters The Drifter and Accuser in making deals with Libery Media's Livewire division, Sprint Mobil's first cell phone animation network and STARZ Entertainment- joining these public companies in exploiting looted assets and violating Stan Lee Media's copyrights in them.
As a result of the Wilson ruling, Stan Lee Media investor and investment banker Jose Abadin has filed a new federal suit specifically against Stan Lee to enforce the most important intellectual property assignment in the History of Hollywood, giving Stan Lee Media all the rights and claims Lee owned to all his creations in the creative universe, including all rights, forever, to his name and likeness. This assignment was made by Lee to capitalize his dot com Stan Lee Media in October, 1998, for which he received shares in the company once worth more than $100 million!
Stan Lee Assigned His Name and All His Creations as of October 15, 1998 in SLM Contracts
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