Two Montreal artists are at war against the giants Marvel and Disney, whom they accuse of plagiarism to design a new armor for the famous Iron Man, and are directly calling for the films to be withdrawn from the Quebec market.
“Because of the immense popularity of the movies [de Marvel]The public thinks they are the ones imitating the Marvel characters, not the other way around, ”brothers Ben and Raymond Lay lament in a civil lawsuit published Tuesday in a Montreal court.
Photo taken from the civil suit
The trapeziums are similar in two weaves while the choice of color for the thighs is similar. Both shields are gold-plated at the thighs.
The two partners who founded the studio Horizon Comics Productions in 1995 are well known for their series Root, Which features characters with detailed futuristic armor.
The work created in 2001 was so successful that the Massachusetts Institute of Technology impersonated a research grant of $ 50 million. Then the prestigious institution apologized.
David vs. Goliath
“But with Marvel, forgery was frequent, the Lai brothers lamented in a statement sent by their attorneys Julie Desrosiers and Patricia Hénault. It is causing us great harm and has an impact on our ability to earn a living as artists.”
According to the brothers, Marvel, which belongs to Disney, would have directly copied its design to create the hero armor in the Iron Man.
Photo taken from the civil suit
There is a “Y” shape on the forearms as well as a curved blade design. The colors are also the same and it separates the shoulder from the arm.
A lawsuit was filed in the United States after the movie was released Iron Man 3 In 2013, however, the judge noted many differences to support the complaint.
The small studio then surrendered the appeal to avoid paying $ 1.5 million in Marvel legal fees.
Photo taken from the civil suit
Both the Iron Man and the Radix armor have prominent blades on the shins. Three on each side, downward and gold, for emphasis.
“Horizon simply did not have the financial means to continue its fight against such a giant,” the court document said.
new design
However, when the movie Avengers: Infinity War Released in 2018, the studio noticed that Iron Man’s armor had changed, looking more like his character. Root.
“The hallmarks that the US judge set to justify dismissing the Horizon lawsuit are no longer in the costumeInfinity war Is it indicated in the court document, carefully emphasizing many similarities.
Photo taken from the civil suit
Both shields have a gray plate under their armpits, in addition to being of the same shape and size. The color that comes out from the hands is the same.
Worse still, Horizon studio is convinced that Marvel has stolen it further in designing the Ant-Man and the Wasp characters, in the films released in 2018 and 2019, which hit the box office.
“Marvel knew the work of the Lai brothers, can we read in the lawsuit. Copyright infringement is not accidental. [Le géant américain] As a result of the lawsuit in the United States, she learned Horizon has limited funds to defend her rights. “
For a Montreal studio, Marvel’s behavior is nothing short of “repressive, malicious, and extremely repulsive”.
Photo taken from the civil suit
The upper part of the shield looks similar in shape and color to the torso, with the shoulder design having the same slit in the same location.
“After years of litigation in the United States and huge amounts of money, they keep copying our characters,” the Lai brothers said. Obviously, this repetitive behavior cannot be tolerated. The only way to do it right was to lift these measures. “
Under copyright law, they are claiming compensation that has not yet been quantified because they don’t know how much revenue Marvel would have earned on their backs. They are also calling for the withdrawal of the disputed films and want the studio to stop selling derivative products.
Marvel did not respond to magazine.
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