Comic-Con Wins Trademark Lawsuit In Salt Lake City

Comic-Con won a lawsuit in Salt Lake City in late August. This matters, because Comic-Con owns various trademarks in different classes, as well as owning the trademarks to different locations. The separate locations are all registered under the San Diego Comic Convention Corporation. Unfortunately, Salt Lake City Comic-Con is not a registered trademark under the San Diego Comic Convention Corporation.

Why does this matter? A trademark owner needs to police their brand once they have a registration. The point is to stop counterfeit products, and potentially confusing associations with third parties. By using the name “Comic-Con”, event holders could potentially be misleading attendees and customers that the convention is affiliated with the famous San Diego Comic-Con event.

“Late last year a San Diego jury had found that the trademarked brand belongs to Comic-Con International…”

As a large fan of comic books, video games, and the movies and TV shows connected to them, I am all for more comic conventions being held across the US (and possibly the world), but I can not blame the San Diego Comic Convention Corporation for protecting their brand. The brand is large and attracts people from all over the world to promote their various comics, TV shows, movies, and more. It would be easier to create a similar event with a different name, promoting the same kind of atmosphere.

Source: San Diego Union-Tribune