Fin Fang Foom wrote:

I think the Kirby family was motivated more by the copyrights becoming due in a few years rather than Disney's entry into the picture...


I suspect this is the case, as well. There's a specific window built into the changes to Copyright Law that has made this possible -- and of course, since the copyrights will eventually expire (snop snickering, whoever is doing that), it's in the best interests of the creators to act sooner rather than later.

What Marvel's aquisition helps to demonstrate, though, is how valuable many of these properties have turned out to be.
I figure that copyright laws will continue to be changed so that Disney never loses these characters, and I honestly do not have a problem with that. I wish the Kirby' s could get a little bit of money for their fathers work, but I doubt it will happen.