Marvel and DC Comics used to jointly own the trademark for the term ‘superhero.’ However, that is no longer the case . A recent court ruling has resulted in Marvel and DC losing their trademark rights for ‘superhero’. Making it for public use in the public domain
A UK artist contested the companies’ claim to the term in court. When both Marvel and DC failed to respond, the artist won the case, and as a result, ‘superhero’ is now part of the public use.
A comic book artist from London created a series featuring a team of superhero babies known as ‘Super Babies.’ He claimed that DC accused his company of trademark and threatened legal action when Superbabies Ltd applied for U.S. trademarks for the ‘Super Babies’ name.
According to a Reuters report, Marvel and DC have used their trademarks to challenge various superhero-related applications. Superbabies filed a case to cancel these trademarks, claiming that Marvel and DC cannot have’ ownership over an entire genre’ and that the two competitors cannot share trademark ownership.
The two major comic publishers, DC and Marvel, work together to register trademarks and to crossover that unite their iconic heroes. Their latest collaboration was released last month with the DC Versus Marvel and DC/Marvel: The Amalgam Age Omnibuses. The DC Versus Marvel Omnibus compiles a crossover featuring DC and Marvel characters. These tales, originally published as one-shot comics, and these stories introduce new characters.
So when Marvel and DC did not respond, the artist won the case, leading the U.S. Trademark Office to cancel the ‘Super Hero’ trademark held by both companies. The cancellation of the ‘Super Hero’ trademark rights creates new opportunities for independent creators. With legal resources like those available through Vakilsearch, our expertise helps an artist be confident in the complexity of trademark law. Connect with Vakilsearch today.
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