It has been six years since 2013's "Iron Man 3". For most of these six years, this movie is one of the most controversial movies in the Marvel Universe because "Iron Man 3" has been shrouded in A shadow of the law, especially the poster about it. The "Iron Man 3" poster has become the subject of a copyright lawsuit by Horizon Comics Productions. Now, this legal battle is over, just as Tony Stark defeated Aldrich Killian with the help of "Little Pepper", this time Marvel also won.
According to the "Hollywood Report", after four years of trial, on Monday, a federal judge in New York made a verdict in favor of Marvel Entertainment. Marvel Entertainment fully persuaded the judge that the poster for "Iron Man 3" was created independently and there was no evidence of illegal copying, thus winning the summary judgment.
The Lai brothers’ Horizon Comics production company initially filed a lawsuit in Massachusetts, claiming that it infringed copyright and had unfair business practices. The brothers created the comic series "Radix" in 2001, with characters in mechanized armor. They claimed that Marvel hired them as comic artists in 2002 and their work was copied into "Iron Man 3." You can refer to the poster of "Iron Man 3" and the comparison chart of "Base".
After Marvel initially filed a motion for rejection, the judge believed that the two works had at least some similarities, and therefore rejected Marvel’s objection agreement. I have to say, from the poster, it seems that Marvel's "Iron Man 3" does have similarities with Horizon Comics "The Cardinal". Judge
concluded that Marvel is more convincing.
Horizon Comics believes that Marvel Entertainment’s argument that it copied its works is mainly based on two principles. First, "Base" is very popular and has aroused great interest among people in the comics industry, which means that the commercial nature of "Base" can be met. Second, the cartoonist of "Cardinal" has a deep relationship with Marvel employees, and many Marvel employees know "Cardinal". In addition to the poster comparison, Horizon Comics also provided expert testimony on the similarity of the two works. The testimony discussed the anatomy of the comic and the camera's perspective. Basically, the two pictures do look very similar. However, the war lasted for 4 years, and the evidence provided by Horizon Comics was not enough to convince the US District Court Judge J. Paul Utken. Judge
acknowledged the comic industry's knowledge of "Base", and some Marvel employees also admitted that they knew the work "Base". Nevertheless, the judge did not find any important evidence that the comic staff had stolen the base idea from the Horizon Company, nor did they find that these employees were involved in the poster design of "Iron Man 3". The conclusion is that those Marvel employees who knew "Cardinal Number" saw the portrait of "Cardinal Number" and participated in the "Iron Man 3" poster.
finally concluded that there are enough differences between the two posters, especially Marvel Entertainment has provided a large amount of irrefutable evidence that the "Iron Man 3" poster is original, and Horizon Comics has almost no Provide any evidence that it is plagiarism. So after years of litigation, this case will not enter the trial stage, and Marvel won.
