In case you didn’t know, Marvel and DC Comics jointly owned the trademark for the term “super hero.” However, that is no longer the case.
Due to a recent court ruling, Marvel and DC have lost the trademark to “super hero,” and the term is now available for public use in the public domain.
An artist from the UK challenged Marvel and DC’s ownership of the term “super hero” in court. When both companies failed to respond, the artist won the case, and as a result, “super hero” is now in the public domain.
The info comes via Reuters which reports the U.S. Trademark Office tribunal has canceled a set of “Super Hero” trademarks. The link to the court’s decision states Marvel Characters Inc. and DC Comics failed to answer the petition. As a result, the artist’s motion is uncontested.
“By establishing SUPER HEROES’ place in the public domain, we safeguard it as a symbol of heroism available to all storytellers,” the lawyer for the artist said.
Marvel and DC jointly held four federal trademarks for the terms “Super Hero” and “Super Heroes,” dating back all the way back to 1967.
The comic book artist out of London created comics about a team of superhero babies called the “Super Babies,” and said that DC accused his company of infringing on these trademarks and threatened legal action when Superbabies Ltd applied for U.S. trademarks for the “Super Babies” name.
According to the report from Reuters, Marvel and DC have used their trademarks to oppose numerous superhero-related applications.
In May, Superbabies filed a petition to cancel these marks, arguing that Marvel and DC cannot “claim ownership over an entire genre” and that two competitors cannot jointly own trademarks.
So when Marvel and DC failed to respond, the artist won, and the U.S. Trademark Office canceled Marvel and DC’s set of “Super Hero” trademarks.