Hurray!

A court in New York has ruled that the 82-year-old creator of Spider-Man is due millions of dollars in unpaid profits from Marvel Enterprises for the success of the Spider-Man franchise and other Marvel Comics-based films over the past seven years.

Lee began with Marvel in 1939, and served as writer, editor, art director, head writer and publisher for the company before effectively retiring from active duty and becoming chairman emeritus. He filed the lawsuit in November 2002, pointing out a clause in his contract that entitled him to 10 percent of TV, movie and merchandising deals, an amount he thought was significantly higher than the $1 million-per-year salary he currently receives. Marvel tried to find a loophole in the wording.

But it seems that Lee has prevailed. “In short, the first sentence of [the contract] is not ambiguous,” Sweet said in his ruling “It provides that Lee is entitled to share in the results of Marvel’s arrangements for movie and television productions involving Marvel characters.”