News & Analysis as of

DC Comics

Fox Rothschild LLP

Comic Publishers No Heroes To Artists Seeking NFT Score

Fox Rothschild LLP on

Copyright in characters is not a new concept but it can take interesting twists. We saw this recently when litigation over the Netflix movie Enola Holmes raised the question just how far the term of copyright in Sherlock...more

Robinson & Cole LLP

IP+T: Intelligence Newsletter - Q2 2020

Robinson & Cole LLP on

Major Research Universities Agree to Technology Access Framework Amid COVID-19 Pandemic - A growing number of major universities, including Harvard University, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Stanford University, Yale...more

Ladas & Parry LLP

It’s A Bird, It’s A Plane, It’s Dilution By Blurring: TTAB Sustains DC Comics’ Opposition Against Application For Super Woman Of...

Ladas & Parry LLP on

In a non-precedential decision in DC Comics v Deanna Rivetti (Opposition 91219851, August 17 2017), the Trademark Trial and Appeal Board (TTAB) sustained an opposition to the registration of Application Number 86240703 for...more

Ladas & Parry LLP

Comic-Con Invades San Diego

Ladas & Parry LLP on

Thursday, July 20th will mark the start of the 47th annual San Diego Comic-Con International, more commonly known as San Diego Comic-Con or “SDCC”. The convention is a four-day event held every July at the San Diego...more

WilmerHale

Copyright and Trademark Case Review: FLANAX, Fishing Tackle, Football Players and More

WilmerHale on

Summaries of Recent Precedential and Informative Appellate Opinions - Trademark Opinions - Owners of Foreign Marks May Sue Under Lanham Act Without Using Marks in the US: Belmora LLC v. Bayer Consumer Care AG,...more

Davis Wright Tremaine LLP

Holy Copyrightability Batman! The Batmobile Is Still a Superhero

A recent Ninth Circuit decision has endorsed copyright protection for Batman’s four-wheeled sidekick, confirming that copyright protection can extend to “sufficiently distinctive” elements of an original work, like comic-book...more

Manatt, Phelps & Phillips, LLP

Intellectual Property Law - February 2016

Both Sides Claim Victory in ITC Ruling re Converse's "Chuck Taylors" - Why it matters: On November 17, 2015, an International Trade Commission judge issued an initial ruling in In the Matter of Certain Footwear...more

Knobbe Martens

2015 IP Law Year In Review

Knobbe Martens on

Commil USA, LLC v. Cisco Systems, Inc., 135 S. Ct. 1920 (May 26, 2015) - ..Does a defendant’s belief that a patent is invalid serve as a defense to charges of inducing infringement? NO - ..Inducement requires...more

Dorsey & Whitney LLP

Superman, Superdad, and the Limits of a Trademark Parody Defense

Dorsey & Whitney LLP on

Superman has triumphed yet again, this time with help from the federal court in the Central District of California. It wasn’t actually Superman that scored this particular victory, but DC Comics, owner of the trademark rights...more

McDermott Will & Emery

Holy Copyright Batman; the Batmobile Still Protected by Copyright Despite “Costume Changes” - DC Comics v. Mark Towle dba Garage...

McDermott Will & Emery on

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit, recognizing that Batman’s personal crime-fighting vehicle, the Batmobile, is not just a cool car, but a character with “physical as well as conceptual qualities,” concluded...more

Davis Wright Tremaine LLP

Holy Copyrightability Batman! The Batmobile Is Still A Superhero…

In the spring of 2013, this author reported on the then-recent decision, DC Comics v. Towle, 989 F. Supp. 2d 948 (C.D. Cal. Feb. 7, 2013), where Judge Ronald Lew determined that the Batmobile is a comic book character...more

BakerHostetler

Ninth Circuit: “Holy Copyright Law, Batman!” The Batmobile Is Copyrightable

BakerHostetler on

The Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals held that the Batmobile is a copyrightable character. The Ninth Circuit’s opinion explaining its ruling begins with the sentence “Holy copyright law, Batman!,” and goes on to quote Adam West...more

Lewitt Hackman

Pow! Boff! Thwack! Batmobile Wins Copyright Litigation

Lewitt Hackman on

It's not every day a Ninth Circuit court opinion includes, "Holy copyright law, Batman!," or “To the Batmobile!” But in affirming a district court’s ruling in a copyright infringement case by DC Comics against the maker of...more

Foley Hoag LLP - Trademark, Copyright &...

Superheroes of Copyright: When Do Fictional Characters Enjoy Copyright Protection?

Several recent cases have highlighted the interesting issue of whether and when fictional characters – as distinct from the works they inhabit – are subject to copyright protection. Over the years, courts have developed two...more

14 Results
 / 
View per page
Page: of 1

"My best business intelligence, in one easy email…"

Your first step to building a free, personalized, morning email brief covering pertinent authors and topics on JD Supra:
*By using the service, you signify your acceptance of JD Supra's Privacy Policy.
- hide
- hide