Marvel and DC's 'superhero' trademarks revoked
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The United States Patent and Trademark Office has issued an order invalidating ' super hero ' trademarks jointly owned by major American comic book publishers Marvel and DC Comics.
MARVEL DC super hero TRADEMARK default.pdf
(PDF file) https://fingfx.thomsonreuters.com/gfx/legaldocs/zgvoawwzdvd/MARVEL%20DC%20SUPER%20HERO%20TRADEMARK%20default.pdf
Reichman Jorgensen Lehman & Feldberg Triumphs Over Comic Giants: super hero Trademarks Open to Public Use
https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/reichman-jorgensen-lehman--feldberg-triumphs-over-comic-giants-super-hero-trademarks-open-to-public-use-302260374.html
When Marvel and DC Teamed Up to Own Super Heroes - The Escapist
https://www.escapistmagazine.com/when-marvel-and-dc-teamed-up-to-own-super-heroes/
US Trademark Office cancels Marvel, DC's 'Super Hero' marks | Reuters
https://www.reuters.com/legal/litigation/us-trademark-office-cancels-marvel-dcs-super-hero-marks-2024-09-26/
The order was issued as a result of a lawsuit filed by British publisher Superbabies Limited. When Superbabies Limited attempted to publish S. J. Ricardo's 'The Super Babies,' it claimed that DC Comics was infringing on the 'super hero' trademark and was notified that legal action would be taken. As a result, Superbabies Limited requested the US Patent and Trademark Office to cancel the trademark in May 2024.
In response to this petition, Marvel and DC appointed attorneys, but did not submit a response to the trademark cancellation request by the deadline of July 24, 2024. As a result, Marvel and DC Comics were deemed not to have opposed Superbabies Limited's request, and the 'super hero' trademark was canceled.
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Regarding how Marvel and DC acquired the 'super hero' trademark, Adm Adler, one of the lawyers involved in the lawsuit, explains in the following article:
When Marvel and DC Teamed Up to Own Super Heroes - The Escapist
https://www.escapistmagazine.com/when-marvel-and-dc-teamed-up-to-own-super-heroes/
According to Adler, the term 'super hero' was trademarked in 1967 by a company called 'Ben Cooper.' Ben Cooper was a costume manufacturer that manufactured and sold superhero costumes for Halloween, including costumes for Marvel and DC Comics characters.
Later, in 1972, action figure manufacturer Mego tried to trademark the brand name 'World's Greatest Super Heroes'. However, Ben Cooper filed an opposition against this, suing for trademark infringement. So Mego jointly transferred the trademark rights of 'World's Greatest Super Heroes' to Marvel and DC. And after Mego jointly transferred the trademark rights of 'World's Greatest Super Heroes', Ben Cooper also transferred the 'super hero' trademark to Marvel and DC. Adler speculates that the background to the transfer of the trademark between the two companies may have been due to the power relationship with Marvel and DC or some kind of transaction.
By Terry Robinson
Originally, Marvel had trademarked 'Marvel Super Heroes' and DC had trademarked 'Legion of Super Heroes'. However, it seems that they thought it would be difficult to trademark the word 'super hero' alone. Therefore, they accepted the assignment from Mego and Ben Cooper and decided to jointly manage the 'super hero' trademark.
Marvel and DC expanded the costume-related trademark 'super hero' to comic books in 1979, and in the 1980s applied it to various products such as cookies, belts, and cake molds. The two companies frequently challenge other companies' trademark registrations that include the word 'super hero,' including the comic book 'A World Without Superheroes' and the self-help book 'From Business Zero to Superhero.' However, Adler said that they did not just challenge them indiscriminately, but sometimes settled with settlement agreements or withdrew their challenges, and adopted a strategy to protect their trademarks while minimizing legal risks.
'By establishing 'super hero' in the public domain, we are protecting it as a heroic symbol for all storytellers to use,' Adler said in a statement.
At the time of writing, Marvel and DC spokespeople and lawyers had not responded to Reuters' requests for comment.
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