Marvel and DC lose their “SUPER HERO” brand

You know how Marvel and DC have co-owned the trademarks for “Super Hero” for decades? That period is apparently over, as the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office has canceled the companies’ claims to several of their trademarks, reports Reuters.

The cancellation followed a challenge by Superbabies Limited, a small company which produces a series of Superbabies comics about baby superheroes. Superbabies creator SJ Richold decided to challenge the two comic book giants’ trademark claims after DC “attempted to block Richold’s efforts to promote The Super Babies,” the law firm wrote who represented Richold in a statement.

Marvel and DC failed to respond to the challenge by the July 24, 2024 deadline, resulting in the trademarks being canceled, according to the USPTO decision. As such, the office canceled four patents, the oldest of which, according to USPTO records, concerned the trademark “SUPER HERO”, registered in 1967. The two companies are still co-owners of a trademark “SUPER HEROES ”, registered in 2018, as well as a “SUPER-VILLAIN” trademark that they obtained in 1985.

If you want to dive down a rabbit hole about Marvel and DC superhero-related brands, I’ve got just what you need. One of the lawyers involved in the Superbabies trademark challenge, Adam Adler, actually wrote a two-part series of articles for Escape Magazine lightly explaining how the companies came to jointly own the trademarks and what they have done to protect that ownership over the years. Adler also links to other articles with even deeper dives.