Graham Jules was granted the trademark rights for the word ‘Superhero’ despite fierce opposition from Marvel and DC Comics. The British businessman filed for the trademark in 2014 for his new book “Business Zero to Superhero” but was immediately opposed by the comic giants who had registered a trademark for this term in 1979 and claimed that Jules’ mark would infringe on it.
Despite fighting for the trademark for the last two and a half years, both DC Comics and Marvel have backed down for “commercial reasons” before the case’s latest hearing meaning that by default Jules has won the case. According to the World IP Review, an EIP associate solicitor, Tristan Sherliker, believes that this action taken by Marvel and DC was probably done “to avoid a negative legal decision, which might have caused a more negative reaction and bigger embarrassment down the line.”
Mr Jules who battled for the ‘Superhero’ trademark rights with only an intellectual property law textbook for aid is delighted at his victory. When he spoke to The Telegraph he said that “this is an amazing result. It shows that even the little guy can achieve something with determination."
However, since the Comic giants withdrew their opposition we will never know what the outcome of the case would have been had they followed it through to the end and if the individual would have still been successful. If this had been the case it may have given hope to many individuals wishing to take on big corporates to secure their desired brand name.
There are no conclusions that we can draw from this case except for the fact that Mr Jules was extremely lucky and that through perseverance and dedication he was finally allowed to register his mark.
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