Marvel owes Stan Lee for movies: judge

A federal judge in Manhattan ruled Wednesday that comic company Marvel owes Stan Lee, its former head, a 10 per cent chunk of the firm's profits from movies like the highly successful 2002 film Spider-Man.

Lee, 82, is known to a generation of comic fans as the man who created along with artists such as Steve Ditko and Jack Kirby such enduring characters as Spider-Man, the X-Men, the Hulk, Daredevil and the Fantastic Four.

U.S. District Court Judge Robert W. Sweet ruled that an agreement Lee signed with Marvel in 1998 entitles him to 10 per cent of the profits generated for the company by its movie and television productions since that time.

"It could be tens of millions of dollars. That's no exaggeration," the Associated Press reported Lee's attorney, Howard Graff, as saying.

The ruling also entitles Lee to a share of the money generated by sales of DVDs and certain other merchandise.

"I am gratified by the judge's decision although, since I am deeply fond of Marvel and the people there, I sincerely regret that the situation had to come to this," Lee said in a release.

The first Spider-Man film alone grossed more than $800 million US around the world. Marvel collected about $50 million US of that as profit.

There have also been two X-Men movies, a Hulk movie, a Daredevil movie and a picture based on the Punisher character in the last few years. This summer will see the release of a motion picture starring the Fantastic Four.

Marvel's lawyer, John Turitzin, says the company will appeal the judge's decision. He noted that Sweet did not rule on some aspects of the case.

"We intend to appeal those matters on which we did not prevail, and to continue to contest vigorously the claims on which the court did not rule," Turitzin said in a statement.

The deal entitled Lee, who was once synonymous with Marvel, to a salary of $1 million U.S., but he felt that Marvel did not live up to the other terms of the arrangement. Lee started legal action against his former employer in 2002.

"Mr. Lee did not begin this lawsuit without a lot of thought and reservation," Graff said.

"He was not pleased to do it. He was saddened by the fact that things came to the point where he had to actually start a lawsuit against Marvel."