Netflix Settles a Copyright Lawsuit Over ‘The Umbrella Academy’ Villain
Netflix and Dark Horse Comics have settled a copyright lawsuit from comic book artist Kevin Atkinson alleging the idea for a fish-tank headed villain in The Umbrella Academy was lifted from him, according to Atkinson’s attorney.
Details of the deal, filed on Wednesday, were not made public as the filing is sealed. The agreement was reached less than a month after the judge overseeing the case granted Netflix’s motion to dismiss the lawsuit for a second time. Atkinson was given one last chance to fix his claims but opted to settle.
Atkinson sued last year claiming that the source material, published in 2008, from which Netflix’s The Umbrella Academy is adapted, copied his design for a character that first appeared in 1996 in his Rogue Satellite Comics. Both characters are villains known for having talking fish in bell jars as heads with normal human bodies.
