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
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