The $1 billion lawsuit Stan Lee had filed against Pow! Entertainment has been dropped. The suit was filed in his name in May with the Los Angeles County Superior Court claiming that the company he had helped co-create conspired to steal his identity as well as his name and likeness rights. While the exact goings on behind the scenes that made it so Lee felt comfortable dropping the suit haven't been revealed, it appears as though the Marvel Comics legend is satisfied. Lee had this to say in a statement.
"The whole thing has been confusing to everyone, including myself and the fans, but I am now happy to be surrounded by those who want the best for me. I am thrilled to put the lawsuit behind me, get back to business with my friends and colleagues at POW! and launch the next wave of amazing characters and stories!"
Pow! Entertainment was sold to Camsing International in 2017, which is based in Hong Kong. Stan Lee's lawsuit alleged that company co-founder Gil Champion and CEO Shane Duffy didn't disclose the terms of the deal to him before closing. Lee also claims that they took advantage of his despair at the time, due to his wife, the late Joan Lee, being on her deathbed. Lee also suffers from macular degeneration, which rendered him legally blind as of 2015 and he claims both Champion and Duffy exploited this.
One of the biggest issues was Pow! using Stan Lee's name and likeness. Lee has been very picky about who he signs his name to over the years and never signs an exclusive agreement. Pow!, according to the complaint, asked him to sign a non-exclusive agreement for his name and likeness rights. However, what he actually signed granted Pow! "the exclusive right to use Lee's name, identity, image and likeness on a worldwide basis in perpetuity." Lee claimed that they had been using his social media accounts and impersonating him. He regained control of his Twitter account recently and has been engaging with his fans, but he also spoke of someone impersonating him. That, as it appears, is all in the past, with the lawsuit now dropped. Shane Duffy had this to say.
"We are ecstatic that this ill-founded lawsuit has been dismissed and we look forward to working with Stan again to develop and produce the great projects that were put on hold when the lawsuit was filed. We recently got together with Stan to discuss our path forward and we and Camsing are pleased with his overwhelmingly enthusiastic reaction."
Stan Lee has had a tough year. Not only has this been an issue, but Lee has had issues with his personal management and people around him trying to take advantage of him in his aging years to gain access to his fortune. Though, it appears that things are improving and that Lee is looking and sounding more like his usual self. While the Pow! lawsuit has been dropped, Lee is still suing his ex-business manager Jerardo Olivarez for fraud. This news comes to us courtesy of The Hollywood Reporter.