After several months of legal wrangling against superpowers Marvel and DC Comics
over selling unlicensed Spider-Man and Batman kippot, Avi Binyamin, owner of the
well-known Jerusalem yarmulke store Kippa Man, said Tuesday that he had settled
both lawsuits.
“Everything’s finished,” he said. “We talked, it’s over,
and now it’s behind me. Tell everyone good luck and have a good
life.”
Although Binyamin could not discuss the terms of the settlement
due to a confidentiality clause, according to Ma’ariv he agreed to pay each of
the parties NIS 25,000 – substantially less than the NIS 100,000 each initially
demanded, and the additional NIS 100,000 demanded by DC for “lost
revenue.”
According to court documents, unlicensed merchandising in
Israel has become increasingly widespread in recent years.
“Offenses
against intellectual property have grown in dimension, and are bringing serious
damage to domestic trade as well as international trade, and are requiring law
enforcement agencies, including the court system, to provide effective
deterrents against this crime,” the document stated.
In the meantime,
Binyamin agreed to remove all of his Spider- Man and Batman
kippot.
Clearly relieved that the case had been settled, he said he was
taking the unfortunate episode in stride.
Indeed, as he catered to a
group of customers, Binyamin sounded as heroic as ever. “I’ll keep
working until 120!” he said.