The General Court of the European Union (TGUE) has confirmed that the black bat badge in an oval belongs exclusively to the publisher DC Commicssince it has not been shown that consumers associate it with a different origin, as argued by the Italian company Commerciale Italiana Srl.

The famous logo was registered in 1998 by DC Comics before the European Union Intellectual Property Office (EUIPO), but in 2019 the aforementioned Italian company filed a claim for invalidity of the trademark referring to certain classes of products, such as clothing and party items.

The EUIPO dismissed the claim. considering that, in the evidence before it, the Batman character was always associated with its publisher and that it has not been shown that consumers associated that brand with a different origin. The Italian company then asked the TGUE to annul that decision, arguing that the logo is not distinctive, but descriptive, circumstances that would be valid to annul the registration of the brand.

However, in its ruling on Wednesday, the General Court of the EU dismissed the appeal and considered that the resolution of the EU Intellectual Property Office is motivated enough.

Regarding the distinctive character, the court based in Luxembourg maintains that “the mere circumstance that consumers associated the contested mark with a fictional character, specifically Batman, does not allow, by itself, to be excluded, that said mark can also indicate the origin of the products in question“The court said in a statement.

The TGUE adds that “the Batman character has always been associated with DC Comics” and that the evidence presented by the Commerciale Italiana company “are not sufficient to show that this was not the case on the day the application for registration was filed or that on that date the mark was associated with another commercial origin”.