While the cases are unrelated, they are based on the same Rights Transfer agreement that Stan Lee made with Stan Lee Entertainment in October, 1998. Under that Agreement (prior in time by 30 days to a similar Agreement Stan signed with Marvel which was also fraudulent on its face because it warranted that the October Agreement was never made) Stan Lee Media became the owner of ALL of Stan Lee's intellectual property rights for what he owned in October, 1998 and what he would create in the future. Because Marvel vioded Stan's original lifetime exclusive contract with Marvel in August 1998, all rights Stan ever owned reverted to him as of September, 1998 and were owned by him in October when he made the assignment to SLM. SLM continues to own those rights which lee hid in his administration of the Bankruptcy.
Does this mean that the trademarks, characters, and licensing were shifted away from Marvel when Ron Pearlman almost sent the company (and the whole industry) belly up in the 1990s?
What of Jack Kirby, Steve Ditko, and other CO-creators at Marvel? Did they ever get to establish partial ownership? Or did they settle for a lump sum payment?
This will be painful as I have a collection of hundreds of issues dating from the early 70's....but Stan Lee is a POS and I cannot in good conscience keep them in my possesion or allow them to exist any longer.
I'm a DC man from now on.