Business US Trademark Office cancels Marvel, DC's 'Super Hero' marks

https://www.reuters.com/legal/litigation/us-trademark-office-cancels-marvel-dcs-super-hero-marks-2024-09-26/

https://archive.ph/jQtuc

By Blake Brittain
September 26, 2024

Sept 26 (Reuters) - A U.S. Trademark Office tribunal has canceled a set of "Super Hero" trademarks jointly owned by comic giants Marvel and DC at the request of a London-based comic book artist, according to a Thursday order.

The USPTO's Trademark Trial and Appeal Board ruled for S.J. Richold's Superbabies Ltd after Disney's (DIS.N) Marvel and Warner Bros' (WBD.O) DC did not file an answer to Superbabies' request to invalidate the marks.

Spokespeople and attorneys for Marvel and DC did not immediately respond to requests for comment. Superbabies attorney Adam Adler of Reichman Jorgensen Lehman & Feldberg said in a statement that the ruling was "not just a win for our client but a victory for creativity and innovation."

"By establishing SUPER HEROES' place in the public domain, we safeguard it as a symbol of heroism available to all storytellers," Adler said.

Rivals Marvel and DC jointly own four federal trademarks covering the terms "Super Hero" and "Super Heroes," the oldest of which dates back to 1967.

Richold writes comics featuring a team of super-hero babies called the Super Babies. According to Richold, DC accused his company of infringing the "Super Hero" marks and threatened legal action after Superbabies Ltd applied for U.S. trademarks covering the "Super Babies" name.

Marvel and DC have cited their marks in opposing dozens of superhero-related trademark applications at the USPTO, according to the office's records.

Superbabies petitioned the office to cancel the marks in May. It argued that Marvel and DC cannot "claim ownership over an entire genre" with their trademarks, and that the two competitors cannot own trademarks together.

The case is Superbabies Ltd v. Marvel Characters Inc, Trademark Trial and Appeal Board, Cancellation No. 92085201.

For Superbabies: Adam Adler of Reichman Jorgensen Lehman & Feldberg

For Marvel and DC: Jonathan Reichman of Hunton Andrews Kurth

Read more:

Marvel, DC face US trademark challenge over 'Super Hero' stranglehold [archive]

 

[The best and greatest]

Amazing it took this long, the concept of a 'super hero' is so ubiquitous at this point

 

[The Mass Shooter Ron Soye]

Amazing it took this long, the concept of a 'super hero' is so ubiquitous at this point

100%, it got diluted. Also interesting is this idea of a "jointly owned" trademark not actually being permitted.

 

[Cats]

I hate capeshit so much. probably the only living human who hasn't seen a single marvel or avengers movie. 1990's Marvel and Capcom Marvel were the best and only versions of that crap that even matters anyway

 

[Ibanez RG 350EX]

Also interesting is this idea of a "jointly owned" trademark not actually being permitted.

A "trademark" marks your trade. Its sole purpose was always to distinguish your brand in a way that a competitor was legally prohibited from copying (a trademark can't be a functional aspect of the product), so sharing a trademark is incoherent.

I'm surprised it ever held up, honestly.

 

[Bassomatic]

Something something, the lawyers are the real winners.

Good, the idea of super heros (and esp legit some from Marvel) goes all the way back to first written shit we saw. It would be bullshit to protect, fucking THOR, etc. Things more than human using power for good has been a dream and story before we could write.

While many myths are based on some loose history, Spiderman is a much a superhero as say, Odysseus.

 

[David Brown]

While many myths are based on some loose history, Spiderman is a much a superhero as say, Odysseus.

You're killing me

 

[The Lawgiver]

of all the names to call your fucking organization, SUPERBABIES? What, did Jigsaw name this shit?

Also this reminds me there's a manga got in trouble with a dead author's estate's legal department for basically being a fanfic about a character from some famous book having a grandson that's also a criminal.

Guess what one of the theme song's to that manga's anime adaptation is called?

 

[Woe-B-Gon (TM)]

Also this reminds me there's a manga got in trouble with a dead author's estate's legal department for basically being a fanfic about a character from some famous book having a grandson that's also a criminal.

That's rich, given that Arsene Lupin's creator (Maurice Leblanc) used Sherlock Holmes as an antagonist without so much as asking Arthur Conan Doyle. (When ACD objected, the character got renamed to "Herlock Shomes" or "Hemlock Somes" or some other syllable shuffle in subsequent outings. Leblanc didn't even stop using the character, he just did the absolute minimum required not to get dragged into court.)

 

[The Lawgiver]

That's rich, given that Arsene Lupin's creator (Maurice Leblanc) used Sherlock Holmes as an antagonist without so much as asking Arthur Conan Doyle. (When ACD objected, the character got renamed to "Herlock Shomes" or "Hemlock Somes" or some other syllable shuffle in subsequent outings. Leblanc didn't even stop using the character, he just did the absolute minimum required not to get dragged into court.)

Yeah I'm pretty sure the pop culture trivia stuff out there that covers the weird copyright dispute surrounding lupin brings up the holmes thing as an added bonus goofy thing usually.

 

[Scarlett Johansson]

Thats funny. But the whole trademark thing is giving when Taylor Swift tried to trademark 1989.

 

[Fishmalk Observer]

I hate capeshit so much. probably the only living human who hasn't seen a single marvel or avengers movie. 1990's Marvel and Capcom Marvel were the best and only versions of that crap that even matters anyway

you aren't alone. my entire marvel catalogue consist of 90's punisher, blade and raimi's spiderman. I'm happy i kept away from basically every western ip that eventually got corrupted by holywood.

 

[oh no its pipkun]

you aren't alone. my entire marvel catalogue consist of 90's punisher, blade and raimi's spiderman. I'm happy i kept away from basically every western ip that eventually got corrupted by holywood.

explain the faggy version of Lobo then

 

[Cats]

you aren't alone. my entire marvel catalogue consist of 90's punisher, blade and raimi's spiderman. I'm happy i kept away from basically every western ip that eventually got corrupted by holywood.

I must have dumped 100 bucks in quarters into the Children of the Atom cabinet at my local gas station. That was such a cozy gas station, too. It's kind of hard to see from above but it was sort of built up high on a little hill and extremely small, but since it was right on the edge of a crossroads they could just pull in like a pitstop. it would be really unique today since you only see these massive chain gas stations anymore.

The red oval was where the gas pump was placed diagonally. It was just a two-car pump, one on each side. The top half of the building was the gas station, the bottom half was always empty and used for storage. I'm certain there were not any parking spots painted onto the concrete back then. Google maps says its a hair salon nowadays.



I used to walk there in the rain with rolls of quarters in my pocket, grab a big Dr. Pepper, king size twizzlers, and hang out on that arcade cabinet forever.

Some of you reading this far might understand what I am getting at, and you're absolutely right: a random gas station holds more warmth and nostalgia than anything put out by Marvel since the 90's era came to an end.

 

[reptile baht spaniard rid]

A "trademark" marks your trade. Its sole purpose was always to distinguish your brand in a way that a competitor was legally prohibited from copying (a trademark can't be a functional aspect of the product), so sharing a trademark is incoherent.

I'm surprised it ever held up, honestly.

They fucked up, the way to do it is create a trade association, have that trademark "super hero" and then license it out to ... only themselves. It's done time and time again, keep an eye out for it.

That's rich, given that Arsene Lupin's creator (Maurice Leblanc) used Sherlock Holmes as an antagonist without so much as asking Arthur Conan Doyle. (When ACD objected, the character got renamed to "Herlock Shomes" or "Hemlock Somes" or some other syllable shuffle in subsequent outings. Leblanc didn't even stop using the character, he just did the absolute minimum required not to get dragged into court.)

IIRC Cervantes had to write a sequel to Don Quixote because people were making knockoff fake ones, and the law at the time didn't let him go after them unless he was "active in the trade" or something, so he had to write a sequel.

Which spends a number of chapters bitching about 1600s copyright law in Spain.

 

[Equal Rights for Androids]

tard 1: I'm calling my trademark Super hero
tard 2: okay I'm calling my trademark Super heroes
tard 1: okay I'm cool w/that it's different enough

tard 3: I'm calling my trademark Superbabies
tard 1 and 2: NO YOU CAN'T DO THAT IT'S INFRINGING MY TRADEMARKKKKK!!!!

 

[Curzon Dax-sama]

While many myths are based on some loose history, Spiderman is a much a superhero as say, Odysseus.

Marvel is slop, the Iliad a foundational myth of western civilisation. You fucking cretin.

 

[XYZpdq Jr.]

ngl I thought it was that DC had "super heroes" and Marvel had like "Marvel Super Heroes" like a "Famous Rays" / "ORIGINAL Famous Rays" type thing

 

[Dr. Butt]

Good.

 

[Elderly Homosexual Negro]

I hate capeshit so much. probably the only living human who hasn't seen a single marvel or avengers movie. 1990's Marvel and Capcom Marvel were the best and only versions of that crap that even matters anyway

I like(d) Batman. The Arkham games were great (i'd argue up to Arkham Knight, anything after isn't word playing), and the darker Batman graphic novels were pretty cool. It's all gay now though, Batman has been thorougly pozzed. Never bothered with Marvel, always seemed like childish shit.