Yesterday, Judge Janis Sammartino handed down a ruling in our ongoing case, Dr. Seuss Enterprises v. ComicMix, allowing the case to proceed to discovery while narrowing the allegations in significant ways. Buried in the order is a very important point that has implications for the entire comics industry, to wit (with footnotes and citations omitted):…
THE CHAMPIONS LOGO LOW BLOW Sometimes I’m not here to tell you what went wrong with a story. Not what I usually do, but sometimes a story just gets the law right. Doesn’t stop me from writing about it. I can have as much fun explaining why the law works the way it was portrayed…
Before the panel starts at San Diego Comic-Con, we hope somebody addresses the issues of potential for confusion in the marketplace and possible violation of trademark. To start, we have First Comics. First Comics was a publisher co-founded by ComicMix’s own Mike Gold in 1983, notable for series like GrimJack, Jon Sable Freelance, Nexus, Badger,…
On the right, the well-known Watchmen icon. Trademarked and in use since 1986. On the left, Marvel Comics’ ad for their new X-Men summer event, “We Are The X-Men.” Coincidence? Really? Worse still, if there are any walruses in the storyline, Marvel could have Yoko Ono up their ass.
A long-simmering trademark dispute over who owns Famous Monsters of Filmland ended on Wednesday when a federal court in California issued a summary judgment temporary Injunction against Ray Ferry, who had lost the trademark during a bankruptcy filing. The mark was purchased for $25,000 by Phil Kim who has been trying to resurrect the brand,…
