SCOTUS Weighs Spider-Man Patent Case

The inventor of a Web Blaster toy that lets children shoot foam strings from a glove, like superhero Spider-Man, is asking the Supreme Court to rethink a decades-old case that says a licensing agreement cannot pay royalties once a patent ends. Inventor Stephen Kimble made more than $6 million in royalties when he sold it to Marvel Entertainment in 2001, but in 2010 when the patent expired, Marvel stopped making payments. A federal appeals court said it was “reluctantly” siding with Marvel due to the Supreme Court’s ruling in a 1964 case, which forbids royalty payments after a patent expires.