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A U.S. Trademark Office tribunal has canceled a set of ‘Super Hero’ Trademarks that were jointly owned by Comic Publishers Marvel and DC at the request of a London-based comic book artist, according to a news report from September 26.
The USPTO’s Trial and Appeal Board ruled for S.J. Richold’s Superbabies Ltd after Disney’s Marvel and Warner Bros. DC did not file an answer to Superbabies’ request to invalidate the marks, nor respond to immediate requests for comment. However, the attorney for Superbabies Ltd, Adam Adler of Reichman Jorgensen Lehman & Feldberg called the ruling “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.”
The History Behind DC and Marvel’s ‘Super Heroes’ Joint Trademark
- Marvel and DC both own four federal trademarks covering the terms “Super Hero” and “Super Heroes,” the oldest of which dates back to 1967.
- Both Comic Book Publishers registered a joint trademark on the term ‘Superheroes’ in 1977, it would eventually be approved two years later in 1979.
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In May, Scott Richold, a comic book creator for Iconic Earth Studios asked the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office to cancel several trademarks that covered the term “Super Hero” which were jointly owned by Disney’s Marvel and its rival, Warner Bros’ DC. According to a petition issued by Superbabies Ltd, Richold argued that the term ‘Super Hero’ was a generic term that wasn’t entitled to trademark protection. In the petition, it provided examples from Marvel, DC, and Image, one of the biggest independent comic publishers in the industry today. Superbabies Ltd then asked the court for a default judgment in their favor and stated that while DC Comics and Marvel Characters filed a motion to extend their time to answer the charges by the 24th of July, which led to the decision on September 26 due to neither Marvel or DC failed to follow through to extend or respond.
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To celebrate their “David vs. Goliath” win, they drew a Parody of Marvel’s Iconic Comic Event House of M, instead of making Mutants disappear, it would be the Superhero Trademark.
Source: Reuters (1,2), Comic Book, Reichman Jorgensen Lehman & Feldberg
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