A Federal judge in the US has ruled that a lawsuit over the rights to the comic-book character reside with Marvel Comics, the company that produces the comic. Ghost Rider, the 'Spirit of Vengeance', who dispenses such from a flaming motorcycle, was conceived by a freelancer Gary Friedrich for the company in 1972 and he now claimed that he was owed part of the profits that had come from the merchandising of the character, particularly since the original Cage adaptation in 2007.
However the judge pointed to the fact that this was considered 'work for hire' and that Friedrich had cashed the payment cheques made to him by Marvel Comics for his work which stipulated said work would remain the property of the company itself and he would retain no rights to the character itself.
There have been several similar cases over the years - with veteran creators saying they felt cheated by what were standard and legal contracts at the time, but which stipulated prohibitive conditions of working practises during the years at various comic companies - and which often resulted in very little credit and no further profit for the people who came up with the ideas themselves.
The Ghost Rider: Spirit of Vengeance movie, starring Nicolas Cage and Christopher Lambert opens in America in February.
