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Second Circuit Sends <i>Ghost Rider</i> Copyright Back to District Court
A dismissed lawsuit over the rights to the Ghost Rider comic book character has been revived and sent back for trial. The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit decided that Gary Friedrich, who claimed he created the flaming-skull motorcycle superhero, will get a chance to challenge Marvel Comics' claim that the character was the result of a collaborative process within Marvel. Gary Friedrich Enterprises LLC v. Marvel Characters Inc., 12-893.
The Second Circuit reversed the decision of Southern District Judge Katherine Forrest, who had granted summary judgment for Marvel and other defendants on Marvel's claim that it owned the renewal rights on the Ghost Rider character, which made its debut in 1972. District Judge Forrest found that Friedrich had assigned any rights to Ghost Rider when he executed a work-for-hire agreement in 1978, six years after the comic book first appeared. She dismissed Friedrich's claim and awarded $17,000 in damages to Marvel on its counterclaim for copyright infringement.
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