Can one businessman take on Spiderman, Iron Man, The Hulk, and X-men? Obviously, Nelson Thall, Chairman of the Board and former director of Torstar, a media conglomerate which owns The Toronto Star..
Can one businessman take on Spiderman, Iron Man, The Hulk, and X-men? Obviously, Nelson Thall, Chairman of the Board and former director of Torstar, a media conglomerate which owns The Toronto Star, the largest newspaper in Canada, has the money and clout to wage a prolonged litigious copyright infringement battle. Thall's legal wrangling in court with Stan Lee Media has been an endless war in court proceedings. In fact, when Thall talks about Stan Lee Media and the legendary comic book heroes, the hairs on the back of his neck rise. Why?
"They cut me out of the financial deal," Thall said, during a telephone interview from his Canadian office. "I was a minor shareholder in Stan Lee Media, and when the owners found out that Stan put the company into bankruptcy, unofficially, they took him to court." But Thall doesn't seem too worried. He has famed trial lawyer Martin Garbus, whose clients have included Lenny Bruce and Don Imus. Now Garbus is doing battle with Superhero legend Stan Lee Media.
In the suit, Garbus maintains that the respondents had violated his clients' copyrights, ignored their rights as shareholders in Stan Lee Media, Inc., and improperly purloined $750 million in profits from Marvel-owned franchises like Spider-Man, Iron Man and the X-Men. The $750 million dollar lawsuit represents a 50% ownership stake in Marvel and Lee-held properties. "We are owed about a billion dollars," he said. "I sued for $750 million. A percentage of Marvel's gross income is paid to Stan Lee. He's the creator," Thall explained, then added, "Stan Lee Media owes us for X-men, Spiderman and the Incredible Hulk."
Stan Lee, who once worked for Marvel Comics, created all of the cartoon icons upon which Marvel Comics has thrived. Nelson Thall joined Stan Lee Media and applied his expertise as a media scientist to help generate money through his characters. Then Lee took his beloved characters, his intellectual property, and created a company of his own. Marvel Comics came after him as soon as they got wind of his success, but they ended up offering Lee a deal, which he took. So Thall, as a minority shareholder in and the marketing mind for Stan Lee Media, felt entitled to some of the lion's share of the profits. In his complaint, Thall’s lawyer, Garbus, accuses Marvel, Lee's business partner, Arthur Lieberman, current Marvel CEO Isaac Perlmutter, and Avi Arad, a major Marvel shareholder, of colluding "to hide and misappropriate financial interests in Lee's creations assigned to Stan Lee Media in 1998 and reaffirmed in 1999."
Accordingly, profits from Lee's comic creations belong to the company, which had emerged from bankruptcy in 2006. The suit also claims that Marvel, et al, had violated Stan Lee Media's copyright interests and that the firm is due profits from all properties, including blockbuster films that were made after 1998 and based on Lee's creations. The lawsuit's allegations were immediately rebuffed, with Marvel issuing a statement asserting that it was filled with "ridiculous claims," and Lee's attorney, Mark W. Williams, asserting that, "We look forward to a positive resolution for Stan Lee and his family." Marvel also argues that the lawsuit features claims that have been pursued in previous cases. Garbus countered Marvel’s claims by pointing out that the suit differs in that, in addition to Lee, it names others, including current Marvel CEO Isaac Perlmutter and Avi Arad, who produced several of the blockbuster films featuring Marvel characters. "It's a very different lawsuit," he said. "It's different money."
In addition, he explained, he suspected that Lee, who once sued Marvel over profits from his creations, had entered into a bad agreement which deprived Stan Lee Media of the windfall from blockbuster movies such as the."Spider-Man" and "X-Men" trilogies. Recognized as a leading authority on the science of communication media and process analysis, Thall’s extensive background and expertise has already contributed scientific proficiency essential to Stan Lee Media's strategic planning and success. In 1998, Thall was elected to the Board of Directors at Torstar Corporation, the largest newspaper publishing group in Canada and owner of the Harlequin Romance publishing franchise.
In addition to serving as Director of Research for the Centre for Media Sciences, Thall consults with government officials, federal tribunals, commissions and business organizations in Canada and abroad, as well as lecture. His books have been published in the United States, Canada, Britain and Russia. His expertise on "virtual reality technology" and "multimedia" has allowed him to define legal terms for the Federal Court of Canada and to develop a television series with Dr. Timothy Leary. Thall has been quoted and interviewed in over 100 major magazines and newspapers around the world. Bill Gates and Peter Lloyd invited him to contribute an essay to the book, “Web Weaving,” in 1998. While studying at the University of Toronto with Professor Marshall McLuhan, Thall became a McLuhan protege and served as President of the Marshall McLuhan Center on Global Communications from 1990 to 1995. He currently holds both jet aircraft and helicopter commercial pilot licenses. He is married with two children.
