“In 1990, petitioner Stephen Kimble obtained a patent on a
toy that allows children (and young-at-heart adults) to role-play as “a spider
person” by shooting webs—really, pressurized foam string—“from the palm of
[the] hand.” U. S. Patent No. 5,072,856, Abstract (filed May 25, 1990).1 Respondent
Marvel Entertainment, LLC (Marvel) makes and markets products featuring
Spider-Man, among other comic-book characters. Seeking to sell or license his
pa-tent, Kimble met with the president of Marvel’s corporate predecessor to
discuss his idea for web-slinging fun. Soon afterward, but without remunerating
Kimble, that company began marketing the “Web Blaster”—a toy that, like Kimble’s
patented invention, enables would-be action heroes to mimic Spider-Man through
the use of a polyester glove and a canister of foam. Kimble sued Marvel in 1997
alleging, among other things, patent infringement. The parties ultimately
settled that litigation. Their agreement provided that Marvel would purchase
Kimble’s patent in exchange for a lump sum (of about a half-million dollars)
and a 3% royalty on Marvel’s future sales of the Web Blaster and similar
products. The parties set no end date for royalties, apparently contemplating
that they would continue for as long as kids want to imitate Spider-Man (by
doing whatever a spider can).
No comments:
Post a Comment