David Vreeland Kenyon

American lawyer and judge who served as United States District Judge of the United States District Court for the Central District of California from 1980 to 1997. He presided over one of the first highly publicized creators rights cases in American comics, which attracted support from major industry figures. Kenyon presided over a dispute over ownership of the Marvel Comics character, Howard the Duck. On 29 August 1980, after learning of Marvels efforts to license Howard for use in film and broadcast media, creator Steve Gerber filed a copyright infringement lawsuit against Marvel corporate parent Cadence Industries and other parties, alleging that he was the sole owner of the character. The lawsuit was settled on 24 September 1982, with Gerber acknowledging that his work on the character was done as work-for-hire and that Marvel parent Cadence Industries owned “all right, title and interest” to Howard the Duck and the Howard material he had produced. On 5 November 1982, Kenyon approved the motion and dismissed the case. Kenyon died on 31 March 2015 at age 84. Link to Wikipedia biography Read less