This info comes straight from www.x-mencomics.com/xfan...
According to a recent report by Variety, both the trade paper and the LA Daily Journal have successfully motioned for the details of the recent lawsuit between Marvel Studios and Sony Pictures to be opened to the public.
The report goes on to state that Marvel is seeking to terminate its license agreement with Sony after the completion of Spider-Man 2, and also filed claims against Sony for "cross-promoting" Spider-Man with other Sony features.
The dispute began last fall, when Sony became concerned that Marvel was using inappropriate accounting methods to deprive Sony of its share of payments from Marvel's exploitation of the Spider-Man character. Sony then withheld $1.5 million from a participation payment made to Marvel and announced it would begin an audit in January.
From there, the dispute mushroomed into what Sony describes as an attempt by Marvel to force the unjustified renegotiation of the license agreement. According to Sony's papers, Marvel executives repeatedly have expressed their unhappiness with the 1999 license agreement, particularly their participation in the film's box office and home entertainment receipts.
Sony also alleges that despite an agreement to resolve their dispute privately, Marvel filed an inflammatory complaint with sensitive and confidential documents attached as exhibits to force Sony to renegotiate. The two documents Sony most wants to keep sealed are the license agreement itself and an internal marketing document. According to Sony's papers, the document contains extremely detailed information about revenue projections and licensing rates for the first Spider-Man feature.
Publicizing the information, Sony said, will jeopardize its ability to make licensing agreements on the sequel. |
