The Four Color Media Monitor

CTV News has an update on a previously reported story about a copyright battle the creators of a comic called Radix in Quebec, Canada filed against Marvel studios for infringement:

Montreal comic-book artist Ray Lai said that no matter the time, effort or legal expense, he and his brother Ben will defend their work, even if it's against a force as powerful as the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU).

"If you come up with an original idea, it's your job to protect it, and if you don't do it, you might as well not do it anymore," the artist told CTV News.

Some could surely argue that about Marvel and DC in their original incarnations, long before they became corporate-owned products per se, and now, look how they've all been turned inside out via political correctness. Because who actually defended them then, original creators or otherwise? The people involved just sold out what was in their care, all for the sake of commercialism that's not adding up today.

The Lai brothers are embroiled in a legal fight against Marvel and Disney, who they say stole design elements in the film versions featuring the characters Iron Man, Ant-Man and the Wasp.

A recently filed abuse of process motion argues that the industry juggernauts have tried to delay or dismiss their copyright infringement case using deceitful tactics.

"The defendants appear to be acting with the intention of drowning the plaintiff procedures and documentation and thus exhaust them financially," the motion reads. "In addition to the unnecessary steps that the plaintiffs [Lai brothers] have had to take... the claimant has had to deal with a number of unnecessary objections and unreasonable positions of the defendants."

Since the proceedings began in 2021, the Lai brothers' lawyer, Julie Desrosiers, said Marvel has attempted to dismiss the case, objected to key witnesses being deposed, and tried to bury the lawyers in documents without title, all while increasing fees for her clients and delaying the case unnecessarily.

"We realized that they did some things that misled the court and misled us with respect to revenues and profits deriving from these films in Canada," said Desrosiers. "We decided to file a motion for abuse of process so that the Lai brothers can recuperate some of the fees that they spent in fighting against these proceedings."

The motion seeks almost $180,000 to recoup legal fees that have mounted for the Lai brothers.

Sadly, this is nothing new when corporations like these try to get the suits thrown out, regardless of whether they're valid or not. I continue to wish the Lai brothers good luck with their legal proceedings, but it's bound to be a long, sad battle, undoubtably, one in which Marvel might never apologize to them.

Labels: Avengers, history, Iron Man, marvel comics, politics