Batman v. Superman...Battle of the Brands

Positioned between the end of awards season and release of the summer blockbusters is the most awaited- and will undoubtedly be one of the most talked about- movies of 2016 and possibly this decade, "Batman v Superman: Dawn on Justice." The lift of the review embargo on Tuesday has sparked extensive debate and even verbal attacks by fans since the film has been given less than positive reviews by most critics. While I cannot participate in the debate concerning the quality of the movie, I thought it would be interesting to have a showdown of my own...Batman v. Superman trademarks. A quick search shows that since as early as 1940, over 60 federal registrations have issued for trademarks incorporating the term “BAT” and nearly twice as many for trademarks incorporating “SUPER”… and this doesn’t include other trademarks related to two of the most popular superheroes of all time. While the Man of Steel may win at the numbers game, I believe the Dark Knight is the clear victor when it comes to the best trademarks overall, especially those for the superheroes’ rogues galleries. Below are a few of my favorites.

BATMAN

• GOTHAM/GOTHAM CITY- While the term “Gotham City” is forever tied to the Batman universe, the Manhattan nickname goes back decades before its introduction in the Batman comics in 1940 • JOKER- Considered one of the greatest supervillains and fictional characters of all time (thank you, Mr. Nicholson and RIP, Mr. Ledger) • TWO-FACE- attorney turned villain • POISON IVY and HARLEY QUINN- the Queens of Crime • ROBIN- the Boy Wonder • PENNYWORTH- every superhero needs an Alfred

SUPERMAN

• DAILY PLANET- a connection between Bruce Wayne and Clark Kent • LEX LUTHOR- diabolic genius and Superman’s arch-nemesis • LOIS LANE- Superman’s…I mean, Clark Kent’s better half • KRYPTONITE- also the title of a 3 Doors Down song • BRAINIAC- Superman’s high tech foe

For more information on this topic, please visit our Trademark Protection service page, which is part of our Trademarks practice.

Klemchuk LLP is an Intellectual Property (IP), Technology, Internet, and Business law firm located in Dallas, TX. The firm offers comprehensive legal services including litigation and enforcement of all forms of IP as well as registration and licensing of patents, trademarks, trade dress, and copyrights. The firm also provides a wide range of technology, internet, e-commerce, and business services including business planning, formation, and financing, mergers and acquisitions, business litigation, data privacy, and domain name dispute resolution. Additional information about the trademark law firm and its trademark attorneys may be found at www.klemchuk.com.

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