Baltimore, MD – Published reports and court records indicate a legal battle is on between the widow of novelist Tom Clancy and several entities currently possessing the intellectual property—the author’s main character Jack Ryan. Clancy, a Baltimore native who resided for several years in Calvert County, died in 2013. Tales of Jack Ryan, the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) analyst who subsequently became U.S. president, are still be written by other authors.
According to court records, a suit was filed in Baltimore City Circuit Court Aug. 25 by Clancy’s widow, Alexandra M. Clancy of San Francisco. The defendants in the request for declaratory judgment are J.W. Thompson Webb, Jack Ryan Enterprises LTD, Jack Ryan Limited Partnership and Rubicon Inc.
The Baltimore Sun reported Clancy’s first wife, Calvert County resident Wanda King, “has an ownership stake in those two [Jack Ryan] companies,” which were created by Clancy in 1985 and 1992 to hold the copyrights for his books. The Sun reported Webb was the executor of Clancy’s multimillion dollar estate.
Alexandra Clancy is quoted is several news accounts as stating, “Tom Clancy made Jack Ryan.”
So far the defendants have not responded to the suit.
Contact Marty Madden at marty.madden@thebaynet.com