Federal appeals court rules against Stan Lee Media in latest fight over Marvel characters

A federal appeals court says a Colorado company cannot claim the rights to Marvel's iconic comic book characters.

In a decision issued Tuesday, a panel of the 10th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals upheld a federal judge's dismissal of a lawsuit filed by Stan Lee Media.

The lawsuit sought profits from the $5.5 billion the company says Disney made from movies and merchandise featuring Marvel's superheros. Disney bought Marvel in 2009.

Stan Lee Media no longer is affiliated with comic book writer Stan Lee. But the company argued it had the rights under a 1998 agreement.

The panel says the copyright issue already was settled by another federal appeals court, which ruled against the company.

An attorney representing Stan Lee Media did not immediately return a call for comment.