Both Marvel & DC Lose Their Infamous “Super Hero” Trademark

For many years, the two-word phrase “superhero,” as well as other variants like “superhero” and “super-hero,” were under the joint ownership of both DC Comics and Marvel Comics. While both were influential in the genre since the 1930s, they were far from the only companies producing content in that genre. But since both were the biggest names associated with the genre both filed a joint trademark in 1977 and have held it since.

But now, after nearly 50 years, the “Super Hero” trademark has been dismissed following a challenge by Scott Richold of Superbabies Ltd.

The argument was made that the superhero phrase was a generic term and thus was not qualified for legal protection and ownership. 

A challenge was issued this past May with The Trademark Trial and Appeal Board of the United States Patent and Trademark Office. While Superbabies Ltd. asked the court for a default judgment, both DC and Marvel filed a motion to extend their answer by July 24th. Months after failing to respond to the challenge, the decision was made to automatically cancel all trademarks rated to the term “superhero.”



Following the ruling Superbabies Ltd. lead counsel Adam Adler stated: “Securing this result is not just a win for our client but a victory for creativity and innovation. By establishing ‘SUPER HEROES’ place in the public domain, we safeguard it as a symbol of heroism available to all storytellers.“

Scott Richold also stated: “Superhero stories teach us to stick up for the little guy, so it’s only fitting that the liberation of SUPER HEROES would come at the hands of The Super Babies-the littlest of them all. My hope is that this victory will encourage smaller companies to share their stories with the world.“

Superbabies Ltd. would also release an image parodying a scene from House Of M: No More Mutants with No More Trademarks.



Trademark laws can be very troublesome, especially if they are being used with ill intent. For example, in 2013, Disney attempted to trademark “Dia de los Muertos” or “Day of the Dead,” which is a real Hispanic holiday. They sought to trademark it for the then-in-development Pixar movie Coco. However, the pushback the company received caused them to back off.

What do you think? Is it good that other creatives can now use the phrase without threat of legal action? Let us know your thoughts. 

Sources: Comicbook.com, IGN