Day: November 14, 2004

People are asking me my opinion (God knows why) on the law suit Marvel has filed against City of Heroes claiming trademark violation.

I’m of two minds on it.

One has to be aggressive in protecting one’s trademarks, because–at least it’s my understanding–failure to do so weakens them to the point of possible forfeit. That’s why George Lucas had to go after the US gov’t over “Star Wars” as applied to SDI, even though it was pretty much a lost cause from the get-go.

So if Marvel’s legal beagles genuinely believe their trademark is possibly being infringed, they literally have no choice but to file suit. The outcome itself is almost secondary to taking the action. I do not believe for an instant the notion that they’re doing so just to try and make money from settlements or wins. There are so many more effective and assured ways for Marvel to turn a buck than the wholly unpredictable option of litigation that it’s just too silly a notion for me to accept.

On the flip side, personally–I don’t think they have a leg to stand on. Similarity of characters? They’ve got a far stronger case to go after “The Incredibles” considering you’ve got a team with a superstrong hero, a stretching hero, and a girl who both turns invisible AND projects forcefields. The fact is that certain character traits and powers have become iconic and trying to patrol against them is a waste of time.

I mean, it’s one thing when Marvel went after Dave Sim because of Wolveroach, because that really DID create confusion in the market place. There were really fans, unfamiliar with Cerebus, who saw Wolveroach on the cover and bought the book thinking it was a Marvel tie-in. But no one participating in City of Heroes is looking at characters named Wolviereen and thinking they’re seeing genuine Marvel licensed products.

Hopefully this will be settled quickly and out of court so Marvel doesn’t have to look like a bully while legitimately trying to protect its legal interests.

PAD