The plot has thickened in a copyright fight between the creator of the comic book character Ghost Rider and his former employer, Marvel Worldwide Inc.

Reversing a summary judgment win for Marvel, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit ruled Tuesday that aging comic book writer Gary Friedrich can go to trial on claims that Marvel infringes his rights to the character. In a 3-0 opinion, the appeals court held that U.S. District Judge Katherine Forrest erred in finding that Friedrich transferred away his copyrights way back in 1978.

Friedrich was instrumental in helping Marvel’s former parent company create Ghost Rider back in the early 1970s. For anyone who missed the 2007 film starring Nicholas Cage, Ghost Rider is a "motorcycle-riding superhero with supernatural powers and a flaming skull for a head," as Judge Denny Chin put it in Tuesday’s ruling. In 1978, Friedrich signed over copyrights in the character to Marvel. He received no money from signing the agreement. He has, however, made a bit of side income over the years by showing up at comic book conventions and selling autographed prints of the character.

Friedrich sued Marvel for alleged copyright infringement in 2007. Under his interpretation of the 1978 agreement, certain "renewal rights" in Ghost Rider reverted back to him in 2000. Marvel responded by bringing counterclaims against Friedrich, alleging that he infringed Marvel’s copyrights by selling the Ghost Rider prints at conventions. As you can imagine, comic book fans weren’t happy with that move and rallied behind Friedrich.

Judge Forrest granted summary judgment to Marvel in 2010, handing a defense win to David Fleischer of Haynes & Boone. According to Forrest, no reasonable juror could read the 1978 agreement and find that Friedrich retained any rights in the character. She also granted Marvel summary judgement on its counterclaim and awarded $17,000 in damages.

Friedrich’s longtime lawyers—Charles Kramer of Riezman Berger and Eric Evans of Evans Blasi—appealed to the Second Circuit. By that point, Marvel had also brought aboard a team from Weil, Gotshal & Manges led by R. Bruce Rich. (Weil is longtime counsel for the Walt Disney Co., which acquired Marvel in 2009). Kramer squared off against Rich in a 2012 oral argument.

The Second Circuit revived the case on Tuesday, ruling that jurors could reasonably find that the 1978 agreement didn’t cover all of Friedrich’s potential copyrights. The court also held that a jury should decide whether Friedrich’s claims are time-barred. Since a giant question mark now hangs over the Ghost Rider copyrights, the court vacated Marvel’s $17,000 damages award.

"We were pretty confident than the district court had erred," Kramer told us, adding that he’s "gratified" with the reversal. "We are just looking forward to our day in court," he said.

Weil’s Rich did not immediately return a call seeking comment.

This article originally appeared in The Am Law Litigation Daily.