In my book Comics Startup 101: Key Legal and Business Issues for Comic Book Creators, I briefly discuss the Ken Penders litigation
against Archie Comics. In summary, Penders wrote Sonic the Hedgehog comics for
Archie in the 90s, and he never signed a work-made-for-hire agreement. He sued
Archie over ownership of the characters, and the case eventually settled.
Similarly, artist Scott Fulop filed a lawsuit against Archie Comics in 2016. He
claimed ownership to the Sonic the Hedgehog stories he worked on and that Archie’s
use of them was infringement. The district court finally issued its decision in
the case, Narrative Ark Entertainment LLC
v. Archie Comics Publications, Inc., No. 16CV6109 (VB) (S.D.N.Y.), at the end
of August.
Fulop
worked as a freelance writer and artist for Archie Comics between 1996 and 1998,
creating stories and characters for the Sonic the Hedgehog line of books.
During his time working on Sonic, he did not sign a work-made-for-hire
agreement, and even though Archie Comics claimed he did, no evidence of one was
introduced at trial. After learning from Penders that his creations were still
being reprinted, Fulop registered copyrights in his works in 2009 and 2010. Archie
claimed authorship and ownership of the works, filed for copyright registrations,
and transferred its rights in the same over to Sega between 2011 and 2013. Fulop
did not file his lawsuit until 2016, claiming he was evaluating his options and
waiting to see the outcome of the Penders litigation.
In
its decision, the court ruled against Fulop. The court found that at its heart,
the case was about copyright ownership. Fulop claimed he owned rights to the
stories he worked on, and Archie claimed he didn’t. In a lawsuit concerning
ownership of a copyright, a claim must be brought within three years of
discovering evidence of disputed ownership. Since Fulop was aware of the
Penders litigation, having submitted an affidavit during it, and was aware of
the disputed ownership claims over his works, the court dismissed Fulop’s claims
as they were brought later than three years after discovering the dispute. Since
Fulop’s ownership claim failed, his lawsuit for infringement could not move
forward. As a result, the court dismissed Fulop’s claims against Archie.
Creators
should pay attention to this case for two reasons. First, it’s important to
know your rights and the details of the contracts you sign. And second, if you
think you have a claim or dispute against someone, don’t wait too long in
evaluating or asserting it.