Somehow Prof. Patry anticipated the topic of an essay I am working on at the moment concerning the ability of one copyright owner in a jointly held work to commit waste in this posting: The Patry Copyright Blog: A Blazing Waste?
discussing a:
lawsuit filed by Gary Friedrich, the creator of the comic book character Ghost Rider, alter ego of Johnny Blaze raises a number of issues, one of them whether there exists a cause of action for “waste” of a copyright. Friedrich recently filed suit in Illinois against Marvel, Sony Pictures Entertainment and a few other entities over Sony’s movie “Ghost Rider.” There are copyright claims based on reversion rights, which I don’t understand from the news reports. The waste claim is, I think, based on the heavy marketing of the film through merchandizing and other ancillary products.
Patry says he doesn’t get the claim, and honestly I don’t in this case, but I will be arguing in my essay that a potential waste claim exists in copyright law. More to come this fall.
Filed under: 2007 Copyright Cases, Copyright
