The United States District Court in Los Angeles has ruled in favor of KHIKS’s client, toy manufacturer Mattel, Inc., entering summary judgment in Mattel’s favor against the claim of writer Donald Glut that Glut owns a copyright interest in work done for Mattel’s famous Masters of the Universe brand.
In 2013, Glut had approached Mattel asserting copyright ownership of material he had written for Masters of the Universe back in 1981. In response, Mattel filed suit against Glut, alleging Glut had waited too long to assert his purported copyright ownership, and that Glut has no ownership interest in the work (and no right to terminate any copyright grant) because his work for Mattel was done as a work-for-hire. In ruling that Glut had waited too long to claim ownership, the District Court referenced the substantial evidence presented by Mattel that Glut’s work was commissioned by Mattel as a work-for-hire.
Mattel is represented by KHIKS’s Lawrence Iser, Kristen Spanier, Chad Fitzgerald and Patti Millett.
Media buzz has been widespread, as the following articles indicate:
- Hollywood Reporter: Mattel Wins ‘He-Man’ Ownership Lawsuit
- Variety: Mattel Wins Battle Over Rights to ‘Masters of the Universe‘
- He-Man.org / Pirated Thoughts: Mattel Victorious in Battle for Ownership to ‘Masters of the Universe’ Comics
- Comic Book Resources: Mattel wins fight with comics writer over He-Man rights
- Comics Alliance: An original ‘Masters of the Universe’ comic writer loses ownership suit against Mattel
