In her decision, US District Judge Colleen McMahon stated that the characters Kirby created during the years 1958 to 1963 were done for hire "meaning that they are exempt from a provision of copyright law that allows authors and artists to obtain rights to their original creations after a certain passage of time."
The characters in question included the original X-Men, Fantastic Four, and The Avengers (and it's solo members). Over 45 characters in all were subject to the dispute. This means they stay Marvel's property...for now.
Marc Toberoff, the Kirby Estate lawyer says he will appeal the ruling. Toberoff is also the lawyer for the Siegel Estate who is suing DC Comics/Warner Brothers over the rights to Superman.
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