July 2004
Holy Lawsuits! Time Warner hit by $4 million Copyright Claim by Batgirl Creator
Carmine Infantino, the graphic artist who created a number of characters and revamped the image of Batman, has hit Time Warner with a $4 million lawsuit. Mr Infantino was prompted into action after seeing an interview with a Time Warner Executive who had named a number of characters but had not named Mr Infantino as their creator.
Mr Infantini worked as a freelance graphic designer when he designed the characters. He sold the designs to DC Comics, the previous owners of rights in the Batman franchise, by having all parties sign a cheque. The agreement would then be effective once the cheque was cashed. In cashing the cheque, Mr Infantino had supposedly relinquished all of his rights in the designs.
However, Mr Infantino now feels that he has further rights in the work that entitle him to $4 million from Time Warner, current owners of the rights in the Batman franchise. Time Warner are reported to have offered Mr Infantino $25,000, but he has declined to accept this offer.
BRIFFA Comment:
Copyright law in the USA does not contain a right for the creator of a piece of work to be recognised as its author. The position in America is that the law in relation to unregistered trade marks is sufficient to comply with the requirement to identify authors.
In the UK there is a distinct body of rights called moral rights. In order to be recognised as an author, a person who creates a piece of work must assert what is known as their right to paternity. The most effective way for an author to do this is to state explicitly in the agreement dealing with rights in a piece of work that the right to paternity is being asserted. Whether an author is in a position to assert his or her rights depends on their bargaining position with the other party.