Here's a run down on exactly what is happening in the court battles on Spider-Man... When it'll be resolved and how...
There are basically 4 companies (i.e. MGM, Paramount (as part of Viacom International), Marvel Comics and Sony Pictures/TriStar Home Video. Essentially Paramount has worldwide tv rights, Sony/TriStar has worldwide video and MGM has the right to make the picture, but it doesn't make sense to make the film if the other two companies have all the ancillary rights. Hence the big fight. Paramount and Sony had their rights first, but one of the original players in all this who had the rights to make the film in the first place, went and sold ALL the rights to Carolco thinking he could just cut Paramount (Viacom at the time) and Sony out of the picture. Wrong. Although the real cause for the entire problem started with Marvel Comics whose staff attorney made a HUGE mistake by optioning of the film rights to the character without putting in a take-bake date, i.e. if you don't make the film within one year, two years, etc, we get the rights back to sell to someone else. This is a standard clause they forgot to put in their agreement.
The bottom line, is it all comes to an end by March. It goes to court in front of a jury trial. Because MGM hasn't been doing so well in summary judgement hearings, if they agree to bow out of the picture before the trial then there's a good chance this will settle out of court giving the right to make the film to Paramount and Sony in a joint venture deal (one gets domestic rights, the other foreign) which is very typical of quite a few big movie deals these days between studios. If MGM doesn't bow out, then it'll be about a 10 day court battle.
