The Star Online: Business
The Star Online: Business |
- Marvel Artist Kirby's Heirs Lose Appeal Over Copyrights
- Britain Catches One Of 'Most Wanted' Tax Cheats, Names 10 More
- UK House Prices Hit All-Time Peak, Deterring First-Time Buyers
| Marvel Artist Kirby's Heirs Lose Appeal Over Copyrights Posted: The 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals upheld an earlier decision finding that creations amounted to "works made for hire" under the federal copyright laws and belonged to Marvel. Kirby, who died in 1994, was an influential comic book artist, and fans closely associated him with the rise of Marvel Comics in the 1960s along with former editor and writer Stan Lee. Kirby helped create iconic characters including the Fantastic Four, the Hulk, the X-Men, Captain America and Thor, many of which have become the subjects of recent blockbuster films. Walt Disney Co <DIS.N> bought Marvel for $4 billion in 2009. "Iron Man 3," the latest Marvel movie based on a character Kirby helped create, has grossed $1.2 billion worldwide since May, according to Box Office Mojo. The lawsuit stemmed from documents Kirby's heirs served Marvel in 2009, claiming rights to works he created from 1958 to 1963, when he was a freelance artist and drew some of Marvel's most prized characters. Marvel subsequently sued the Kirbys in January 2010, seeking a court ruling declaring they had no rights to terminate the company's rights to the characters. U.S. District Judge Colleen McMahon in July 2011 ruled for Marvel, finding the works constituted works for hire under the Copyright Act of 1909. In its ruling, the three-judge appeals panel upheld part of McMahon's decision. "Marvel's inducement, right to supervise, exercise of that right, and creative contribution with respect toKirby's work during the relevant time period is more than enough to establish that the works were created at Marvel's instance," U.S. Circuit Judge Robert Sack wrote. The ruling follows other fights by comic book writers, artists and their heirs to reclaim the rights to famed comic book characters. In June, the 2nd Circuit revived a lawsuit by former Marvel freelancer Gary Friedrich against the company over his rights to the motorcycle-riding vigilante character Ghost Rider. Trial in that case was pushed back to December 16 while Marvel and Friedrich pursue mediation and hopefully achieve a resolution," according to an August 1 letter by a lawyer for Marvel. Jeff Klein, a spokesman for Marvel, said in an email that the comic company was "gratified by the appellate court's definitive ruling that there is no legitimate basis to terminate our ownership of the copyrights at issue." Marc Toberoff, a lawyer for the Kirbys, did not respond to requests for comment. The case is Marvel Characters, Inc. v. Kirby, 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, No. 11-3333. (Reporting by Nate Raymond; Editing by Leslie Gevirtz and Ken Wills)- Reuters |
| Britain Catches One Of 'Most Wanted' Tax Cheats, Names 10 More Posted: LONDON: British authorities said on Friday they had captured one of their 'most wanted' tax criminals and added 10 new names to a list of high-priority targets who are accused of cheating the government out of hundreds of millions of pounds. Anthony Judge, who had spent 10 years in hiding after fleeing money laundering charges, was detained when trying to enter Britain on a forged passport on July 4, the finance ministry said. British Prime Minister David Cameron, looking to boost public coffers and win voter support, has been coordinating a global push for tighter international taxation rules to weed out criminal activity as well as curb legal corporate tax avoidance. Tobacco smugglers, company directors and money launderers featured among the new members of Her Majesty's Revenue and Customs' (HMRC) 'most wanted' list - a compilation of 30 people suspected of, or found guilty of, tax crimes worth a total of 725 million pounds ($1.1 billion). "Our message is clear; tax fraud and evasion is illegal and will not be tolerated," said Finance Minister George Osborne. "The government has stepped up HMRC's enforcement activities to enable them to pursue tax cheats relentlessly around the world." The clampdown on tax avoidance and evasion was a major issue at the Group of Eight wealthy economies summit in June and has won voter support in Britain. The high-profile HMRC list, styled on the U.S. Federal Bureau of Investigation's (FBI) long-running 'Ten Most Wanted Fugitives' list, was launched in 2012 and asks the public to supply information that could help track down its members. Judge, whose case had one of the lowest values on the list with an estimated cost to the taxpayer of 350,000 pounds, was the second person detained since the list was released. He was added to the list in May when John Nugent, guilty of a 22 million-pound fraud, was jailed for four-and-a-half years after being caught in the United States. Britain's opposition Labour party said catching only two targets was a 'huge failure'. HMRC said it had received new information on 17 of the original 20 fugitives, who are now believed to be hiding in countries around the globe, including Dubai, Switzerland and Tunisia. As many as nine on the list could still be in Britain. ($1 = 0.6445 British pounds)- _ Reuters |
| UK House Prices Hit All-Time Peak, Deterring First-Time Buyers Posted: LONDON: House prices in England and Wales reached an all-time peak in July, driven by strong demand in London, though purchases by first-time buyers remain well below historic levels, a report showed on Friday. House prices rose 0.3 percent in July to a record 232,969 pounds ($361,500) in July, bolstered by a government housing scheme to subsidize purchases, according to the report by LSL Property Servicesand economics consultancy Acadametrics. Business Secretary Vince Cable has warned the scheme to help homebuyers could just fuel a house price bubble. David Brown, commercial director of LSL Property Services, said low housing stock was inflating prices and first-time buys were running at half of normal levels. LSL said that since July last year, house prices have risen 2.6 percent, the biggest year-on-year rise since April. But London price are rising much faster, by 7.1 percent annually. The LSL/Acadametrics index is based on Land Registry data on completed house purchases, adjusted for the type of property sold and the time of year. It is less timely but covers a wider range of purchases than the closely watched indexes published by mortgage lenders Nationwide and Halifax, which both show prices rising by around 4 percent, their fastest annual rate in about three years. "Supply is restrained, and without a sudden rush of properties hitting the market, prices will rise even more over coming months. The bottom line is that the divide between London and the rest of the UK housing market is deepening," Brown said. While many economists have warned that incentives for house purchase announced by finance ministerGeorge Osborne in his March budget may fuel a property bubble, on Wednesday Bank of EnglandGovernor Mark Carney played down these fears. Mortgage applications are below average and the proportion of high loan-to-value housing loans was well below pre-crisis levels, he said. ($1 = 0.6445 British pounds)- Reuters |
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