User:Ilovetrademark/Superhero
Trademark status[Superhero#Trademark status][edit]
 | This is the sandbox page where you will draft your initial Wikipedia contribution.
If you're starting a new article, you can develop it here until it's ready to go live. If you're working on improvements to an existing article, copy only one section at a time of the article to this sandbox to work on, and be sure to use an edit summary linking to the article you copied from. Do not copy over the entire article. You can find additional instructions here. Remember to save your work regularly using the "Publish page" button. (It just means 'save'; it will still be in the sandbox.) You can add bold formatting to your additions to differentiate them from existing content. |
Article Draft[edit]
Lead[edit]
Article body[edit]
Current Status/Relevant Cases[edit]
Currently, the following trademarks are registered jointly to MARVEL CHARACTERS, INC. and DC COMICS:
73222079 SUPER HEROES for publications[1]
72243225 SUPER HERO for costumes[2]
77732560 SUPER HEROES for production and distribution of a series of animated motion picture[3]
78356610 SUPER HEROES for t-shirts[4]
73011796 SUPER HEROES for toy figures[5]
As mentioned, the two companies also own a variety of other super hero related marks. For instance, DC owns “Legion of Super-Heroes" and "DC Super Hero Girls" and Marvel owns “Marvel Super Hero Island" and "Marvel Super Hero Adventures."[6]
DC and Marvel have garnered a reputation for zealously protecting their super hero marks. As noted above, one of these instances included a man by the name of Graham Jules, who sought to publish a book entitled “Business Zero to Superhero.”[7] In 2014, he received a cease and desist from DC and Marvel who claimed that his use of the term superhero would cause confusion and dilute their brands.[8] He was offered a few thousand dollars in settlement to change the name of his book, but he did not concede.[9] A few days prior to the scheduled hearing at the Intellectual Property Office in London, the companies backed down. [10]
A similar scenario occurred when comic book creator Ray Felix attempted to register his comic book series "A World Without Superheroes" with the USPTO.[11] Felix is one of many who argue that the term "super hero" has become generic (see discussion below).[12] Felix's mark is currently abandoned, but he has stated that he intends to fight against DC and Marvel for use of the term.[13]
References[edit]
- ^ "Trademark Status & Document Retrieval". tsdr.uspto.gov. Retrieved 2024-05-08.
- ^ "Trademark Status & Document Retrieval". tsdr.uspto.gov. Retrieved 2024-05-08.
- ^ "Trademark Status & Document Retrieval". tsdr.uspto.gov. Retrieved 2024-05-08.
- ^ "Trademark Status & Document Retrieval". tsdr.uspto.gov. Retrieved 2024-05-08.
- ^ "Trademark Status & Document Retrieval". tsdr.uspto.gov. Retrieved 2024-05-08.
- ^ "Trademark Search". tmsearch.uspto.gov. Retrieved 2024-05-08.
- ^ Journal, A. B. A. "Law student prevails against Marvel and DC Comics over use of word 'superhero' in book title". ABA Journal. Retrieved 2024-05-08.
- ^ Journal, A. B. A. "Law student prevails against Marvel and DC Comics over use of word 'superhero' in book title". ABA Journal. Retrieved 2024-05-08.
- ^ Journal, A. B. A. "Law student prevails against Marvel and DC Comics over use of word 'superhero' in book title". ABA Journal. Retrieved 2024-05-08.
- ^ Journal, A. B. A. "Law student prevails against Marvel and DC Comics over use of word 'superhero' in book title". ABA Journal. Retrieved 2024-05-08.
- ^ "Comic book creator takes on publishers Marvel and DC for right to use term 'superhero'". New York Daily News. 2013-04-25. Retrieved 2024-05-08.
- ^ "Comic book creator takes on publishers Marvel and DC for right to use term 'superhero'". New York Daily News. 2013-04-25. Retrieved 2024-05-08.
- ^ "Trademark Status & Document Retrieval". tsdr.uspto.gov. Retrieved 2024-05-08.
Cite error: A list-defined reference named "USPTO" is not used in the content (see the help page).
Cite error: A list-defined reference named "CentralPenn" is not used in the content (see the help page).
Cite error: A list-defined reference named "Gilson" is not used in the content (see the help page).
Cite error: A list-defined reference named "Elliot" is not used in the content (see the help page).
Cite error: A list-defined reference named "Colby" is not used in the content (see the help page).
Cite error: A list-defined reference named "BoyntonAle" is not used in the content (see the help page).