Marvel and DC lose ‘SUPER HERO’ trademarks

Do you know that Marvel and DC have co-owned the Super Hero trademarks for decades? That time appears to be largely over, as the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office has revoked the companies' claim to several of their trademarks, it is said Reuters.

The cancellation is the result of a legal challenge by Superbabies Limited, a small company that produces a range of Super babies Comics about superhero babies. Superbabies creator SJ Richold decided to challenge the two comic book giants' claim to the trademarks after DC “attempted to block Richold's efforts to promote the Super Babies,” the law firm representing Richold wrote in a press release .

According to the USPTO's decision, Marvel and DC failed to respond to the challenge by the July 24, 2024 due date, resulting in the cancellation of the trademarks. For this reason, the office has canceled four patents, the oldest of which, according to USPTO records, was for the “SUPER HERO” trademark registered in 1967. The two companies continue to co-own a trademark “SUPER HEROES” registered in 2018. a “SUPER-VILLAIN” trademark they secured in 1985.

If you're looking to delve deeper into Marvel and DC's superhero trademarks, I've got you covered. One of the lawyers involved in the Superbabies trademark lawsuit, Adam Adler, actually wrote a two-part series of articles for Escapist Magazine Briefly explain how the companies came to jointly own the trademarks and what they have done over the years to protect that ownership. Adler also links to other articles with even more in-depth insights.

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