User blog:ARTaylor/Stan Lee Sues Pow! Entertainment

Stan Lee is suing the company he helped found, Pow! Entertainment. Lee and several others formed the company in 2001 but recently it was sold to a Hong Kong company Camsing International.

The lawsuit alleges that unscrupulous business partners took advantage of Lee's declining vision following the death of his wife Joan. It claims that Pow! took advantage of Lee's macular degeneration to get him to sign away exclusive rights to his name and likeness. The suit also claims that Pow! was given the rights to use Lee's social network accounts, though he recently reacquired his Twitter account. Lee claims he never would have signed his name away claiming his name is "the most important and prized possession Lee and his family owned his entire life." He even points out that he refused to give The Walt Disney Company the right to use his name when he struck a deal with them. The suit claims that his signature for the documents were either forged, taken from another document and imposed on the document, or signed using a "bait and switch" tactic so he thought it was something else.

A representative from Pow! responded saying "The allegations are completely without merit. In particular, the notion that Mr. Lee did not knowingly grant POW! exclusive rights to his creative works or his identity is so preposterous that we have to wonder whether Mr. Lee is personally behind this lawsuit. There is no question Mr. Lee — who, along with his daughter, was and remains a substantial POW! shareholder — clearly understood the terms of the agreements he signed. The evidence, which includes Mr. Lee's subsequent statements and conduct, is overwhelming and we look forward to presenting it in court."

The suit seeks damages in excess of one billion dollars.