Batman Won Another (Trade Mark) Battle

Batman may be a superhero but it is the General Court who has come to the rescue following an invalidation action bought against DC Comics, a Warner Bros subsidiary, by Commerciale Italiana Srl, a wholesale retailer of costumes. In 2019, the Italian company applied for the invalidation of the well-known Batman logo (EUTM 000038158) for some of the goods in classes 25 and 28 (including clothing, footwear, and costumes), based on lack of distinctive character.

The Case

The invalidation action was refused by the EUIPO and subsequently by the EUIPO board of appeal. The reasoning given by the EUIPO for the refusal was that despite the somewhat original arguments put forward by the invalidation applicant the fact that the mark "is associated with a fictitious character does not, in itself, make it possible to rule out that that mark can also serve as an indication of the origin of the goods in question."