Bleeding Cool has a good overview of the Kirby vs Marvel lawsuit. For those not familiar, in accordance with copyright laws, Kirby’s heirs have filed a notice of termination to Marvel for a list of characters they claimed were created or co-created by Jack Kirby. If successful, all or part ownership of those characters will revert to Kirby’s heirs.

1. Noting that the matter hinges on Kirby’s work for hire status while creating the properties in question, the court is allowing the Kirby Family’s quest to terminate Marvel’s copyrights to proceed.

Basically what this means is that the judge is allowing the trial to continue in order to determine whether or not Kirby’s heirs have a valid claim. The ownership will hinge on any written or oral contracts between Kirby and Marvel in the 1950s and 1960s.

Stay tuned to see how this plays out.