# It doesn't help most people will likely associate "super hero" with Marvel or DC (trademark thread). **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [March 23, 2017, 6:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/it-doesnt-help-most-people-will-likely-associate-super-hero-with-marvel-or-dc-trademark-thread/782855 "2017-03-23T18:05:40Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Kadmos1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/13edae/32.png) [@Kadmos1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kadmos1)\ **Post date:** [March 23, 2017, 6:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/it-doesnt-help-most-people-will-likely-associate-super-hero-with-marvel-or-dc-trademark-thread/782855/1 "2017-03-23T18:05:40Z")
So, considering that the word “superhero” didn’t originate with them (dates back to about a century ago) and despite both companies on that word/variants, would I be easily setting up myself for a lawsuit if I put that word in a book title (you make get a pass if it was a book on how-to-draw or about the history of)? It doesn’t help most peoplewill likely associate “super hero” with Marvel or DC. For clarification, only that word/variants (“super-hero”, “superhero”, “super-heroine”, and “super heroine”) would be on the cover. Two companies having a TM on what is clearly a generic TM should mean they lose the TM, unless it was something like “DC Super Hero Girls”). ---
**Author:** ![panache45](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/panache45/32/64_2.png) [@panache45](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/panache45)\ **Post date:** [March 23, 2017, 6:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/it-doesnt-help-most-people-will-likely-associate-super-hero-with-marvel-or-dc-trademark-thread/782855/2 "2017-03-23T18:10:38Z")
Just a WAG: You now consider Tarzan a super hero? :rolleyes: ---
**Author:** ![Canadjun](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/76d3ee/32.png) [@Canadjun](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Canadjun)\ **Post date:** [March 23, 2017, 6:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/it-doesnt-help-most-people-will-likely-associate-super-hero-with-marvel-or-dc-trademark-thread/782855/3 "2017-03-23T18:11:54Z")
> [@Kadmos1](#): > > So, considering that the word “superhero” didn’t originate with them (dates back to about a century ago) and despite both companies on that word/variants, would I be easily setting up myself for a lawsuit if I put that word in a book title (you make get a pass if it was a book on how-to-draw or about the history of)? It doesn’t help most peoplewill likely associate “super hero” with Marvel or DC. > > For clarification, only that word/variants (“super-hero”, “superhero”, “super-heroine”, and “super heroine”) would be on the cover. Two companies having a TM on what is clearly a generic TM should mean they lose the TM, unless it was something like “DC Super Hero Girls”). Depends whether those words have been trademarked, and I highly doubt they have been, ---
**Author:** ![Kadmos1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/13edae/32.png) [@Kadmos1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kadmos1)\ **Post date:** [March 23, 2017, 6:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/it-doesnt-help-most-people-will-likely-associate-super-hero-with-marvel-or-dc-trademark-thread/782855/4 "2017-03-23T18:16:23Z")
The quoted DC example or something similar has a TM. Both conpanies have had a TM on “superhero” since the late 70s I think. ---
**Author:** ![Kadmos1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/13edae/32.png) [@Kadmos1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kadmos1)\ **Post date:** [March 23, 2017, 6:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/it-doesnt-help-most-people-will-likely-associate-super-hero-with-marvel-or-dc-trademark-thread/782855/5 "2017-03-23T18:18:15Z")
> [@panache45](#): > > Just a WAG: You now consider Tarzan a super hero? :rolleyes: Yes, along with pulp characters. Let’s leave Tarzan out of this thread, for the sake of sanity. ---
**Author:** ![kenobi\_65](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kenobi_65/32/13178_2.png) [@kenobi\_65](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kenobi_65)\ **Post date:** [March 23, 2017, 6:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/it-doesnt-help-most-people-will-likely-associate-super-hero-with-marvel-or-dc-trademark-thread/782855/6 "2017-03-23T18:20:44Z")
Marvel and DC have apparently [been jointly claiming trademark](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Superhero#Trademark_status) (Wikipedia link) on various versions of the term “Super Hero” since the 1960s. While it looks like the issue of whether the term can legally be trademarked has been debated for a very long time, it sounds like the trademarks are, at this point, still in force. In other words: people with more legal training (and more money for litigation) than the OP have pursued this, for literally **decades** , and those trademarks are still around. ---
**Author:** ![Ace309](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ace309/32/1050_2.png) [@Ace309](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ace309)\ **Post date:** [March 23, 2017, 6:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/it-doesnt-help-most-people-will-likely-associate-super-hero-with-marvel-or-dc-trademark-thread/782855/7 "2017-03-23T18:22:07Z")
> [@Kadmos1](#): > > The quoted DC example or something similar has a TM. Both conpanies have had a TM on “superhero” since the late 70s I think. Wow, that would be something! Do you have any evidence of that? ---
**Author:** ![Anaglyph](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ed8c4c/32.png) [@Anaglyph](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Anaglyph)\ **Post date:** [March 23, 2017, 6:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/it-doesnt-help-most-people-will-likely-associate-super-hero-with-marvel-or-dc-trademark-thread/782855/8 "2017-03-23T18:22:24Z")
You might consider inflating the concept and call your characters “ultra-heros”. ---
**Author:** ![JR\_Brown](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/d6d6ee/32.png) [@JR\_Brown](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JR_Brown)\ **Post date:** [March 23, 2017, 6:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/it-doesnt-help-most-people-will-likely-associate-super-hero-with-marvel-or-dc-trademark-thread/782855/9 "2017-03-23T18:26:13Z")
From a Comic Book Reporter [article](http://www.cbr.com/the-superhero-trademark-faq/) from a while back: > [@](#): > > Q: What products does this apply to? > > A: Publications, but basically comic books and magazines. Also, cardboard stand-up figures, playing cards, paper iron-on transfers, erasers, pencil sharpeners, pencils, notebooks, stamp albums, and costumes So it sounds like a novel might be out of the woods. Google Books turns up [a lot of books](https://www.google.com/search?tbo=p&tbm=bks&q=intitle:Superhero&num=100) with “superhero” in the title, although the list is heavily biased towards children’s books and nonfiction about superhero comics. ---
**Author:** ![Darren\_Garrison](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/darren_garrison/32/92_2.png) [@Darren\_Garrison](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Darren_Garrison)\ **Post date:** [March 23, 2017, 6:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/it-doesnt-help-most-people-will-likely-associate-super-hero-with-marvel-or-dc-trademark-thread/782855/10 "2017-03-23T18:43:04Z")
Some day, Kadmos1 is going to write a novel where Tarzan, Sherlock Holmes, and Zorro become superheroes and fight evil robber baron legacy media estates, and it is going to make a million dollars and make fools of all of us. ---
**Author:** ![cochrane](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cochrane/32/10441_2.png) [@cochrane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cochrane)\ **Post date:** [March 23, 2017, 6:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/it-doesnt-help-most-people-will-likely-associate-super-hero-with-marvel-or-dc-trademark-thread/782855/11 "2017-03-23T18:56:26Z")
> [@Darren\_Garrison](#): > > Some day, Kadmos1 is going to write a novel where Tarzan, Sherlock Holmes, and Zorro become superheroes and fight evil robber baron legacy media estates, and it is going to make a million dollars and make fools of all of us. It sounds like there’s a place for Lex Luthor in there. ---
**Author:** ![Telemark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/telemark/32/372_2.png) [@Telemark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Telemark)\ **Post date:** [March 23, 2017, 7:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/it-doesnt-help-most-people-will-likely-associate-super-hero-with-marvel-or-dc-trademark-thread/782855/12 "2017-03-23T19:03:22Z")
> [@Darren\_Garrison](#): > > Some day, Kadmos1 is going to write a novel where Tarzan, Sherlock Holmes, and Zorro become superheroes and fight evil robber baron legacy media estates, and it is going to make a million dollars and make fools of all of us. I’m pretty sure that was an SNL skit. ---
**Author:** ![kenobi\_65](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kenobi_65/32/13178_2.png) [@kenobi\_65](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kenobi_65)\ **Post date:** [March 23, 2017, 7:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/it-doesnt-help-most-people-will-likely-associate-super-hero-with-marvel-or-dc-trademark-thread/782855/13 "2017-03-23T19:08:39Z")
> [@Telemark](#): > > I’m pretty sure that was an SNL skit. Either that, or an issue of the ill-fated comic book “The League of Extraordinary Intellectual Property Attorneys.” ---
**Author:** ![Doubticus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e56c9b/32.png) [@Doubticus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Doubticus)\ **Post date:** [March 23, 2017, 7:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/it-doesnt-help-most-people-will-likely-associate-super-hero-with-marvel-or-dc-trademark-thread/782855/14 "2017-03-23T19:26:29Z")
I don’t think “Exceptional Vindicator” is copyrighted yet. ---
**Author:** ![engineer\_comp\_geek](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/engineer_comp_geek/32/504_2.png) [@engineer\_comp\_geek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/engineer_comp_geek)\ **Post date:** [March 23, 2017, 7:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/it-doesnt-help-most-people-will-likely-associate-super-hero-with-marvel-or-dc-trademark-thread/782855/15 "2017-03-23T19:38:54Z")
**Moderator Action** Since the OP is asking about potential lawsuits, this is better suited to IMHO. For clarification to the OP since you are relatively new here, we tend to put anything involving legal matters in IMHO since we moderators aren’t lawyers and can’t always determine whether the matter is factual or involves legal opinions. As the IMHO forum name implies, any responses you get there are just the opinions of some folks on the internet, and should not be considered to be the equivalent of professional legal advice. When dealing with legal matters, it is always best to consult a real life legal professional. Moving thread from GQ to IMHO. ---
**Author:** ![Penfeather](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/penfeather/32/384_2.png) [@Penfeather](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Penfeather)\ **Post date:** [March 23, 2017, 8:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/it-doesnt-help-most-people-will-likely-associate-super-hero-with-marvel-or-dc-trademark-thread/782855/16 "2017-03-23T20:05:13Z")
> [@kenobi\_65](#): > > Either that, or an issue of the ill-fated comic book “The League of Extraordinary Intellectual Property Attorneys.” The League of Out Of Copyright Gentlemen. ---
**Author:** ![Amateur\_Barbarian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/59ef9b/32.png) [@Amateur\_Barbarian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Amateur_Barbarian)\ **Post date:** [March 23, 2017, 9:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/it-doesnt-help-most-people-will-likely-associate-super-hero-with-marvel-or-dc-trademark-thread/782855/17 "2017-03-23T21:16:51Z")
> [@Darren\_Garrison](#): > > Some day, Kadmos1 is going to write a novel where Tarzan, Sherlock Holmes, and Zorro become superheroes and fight evil robber baron legacy media estates, and it is going to make a million dollars and make fools of all of us. Eh. I sketched out a modern-day return of Zorro novel a while back, before I figured out Disney owns pretty much all the rights including those of Johnston McCulley’s ashes, and shelved it. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/the_other_waldo_pepper/32/12370_2.png) [@The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Other_Waldo_Pepper)\ **Post date:** [March 23, 2017, 9:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/it-doesnt-help-most-people-will-likely-associate-super-hero-with-marvel-or-dc-trademark-thread/782855/18 "2017-03-23T21:20:30Z")
> [@Kadmos1](#): > > Yes, along with pulp characters. Let’s leave Tarzan out of this thread, for the sake of sanity. IIRC, the first fictional character ever referred to as a superhero was Doc Savage. ---
**Author:** ![Exapno\_Mapcase](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/exapno_mapcase/32/1051_2.png) [@Exapno\_Mapcase](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Exapno_Mapcase)\ **Post date:** [March 23, 2017, 10:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/it-doesnt-help-most-people-will-likely-associate-super-hero-with-marvel-or-dc-trademark-thread/782855/19 "2017-03-23T22:50:04Z")
> [@Kadmos1](#): > > So, considering that the word “superhero” didn’t originate with them (dates back to about a century ago) and despite both companies on that word/variants, would I be easily setting up myself for a lawsuit if I put that word in a book title (you make get a pass if it was a book on how-to-draw or about the history of)? It doesn’t help most peoplewill likely associate “super hero” with Marvel or DC. Since there are many non-DC/Marvel books on Amazon with “superhero” in the title, just as there are many non-Burroughs books on Amazon with “Tarzan” in the title, it should be obvious that trademarks are extremely specific in application. Having a trademark on a word, name, or term doesn’t preclude all use. > [@](#): > > For clarification, only that word/variants (“super-hero”, “superhero”, “super-heroine”, and “super heroine”) would be on the cover. Two companies having a TM on what is clearly a generic TM should mean they lose the TM, unless it was something like “DC Super Hero Girls”). This is actually an interesting case. In most situations the word would be treated as a generic and DC/Marvel could lose trademark status. But there is an explanation [here](http://www.cbr.com/the-superhero-trademark-faq/) that seems to cover it. > [@](#): > > Besides filing for a trademark, what Marvel and DC had to demonstrate was that, when consumers thought of the word “superhero,” that they thought of DC or Marvel. Surveys would have proven this. Therefore, it was considered to be reasonable that if some other product called itself “Superhero,” that a consumer would think the product came from DC or Marvel, which, in my opinion, is a reasonable claim. > > The original basis for trademarks were to protect consumers from bogus products that they were confused into thinking came from a more famous company. Over the years, it seems like it is instead protecting companies from their competitors, but the basic premise is “Would a consumer think this product came from Company A if it uses this name?” and if the answer is “You betcha,” then it is likely that Company A will get a trademark on that word. So while you’re free to consider this a moral issue, the facts seems to be that the case in law is a sound one. You yourself say that most people will indeed associate the word with DC or Marvel, which means that the legal theory is appropriate. ---
**Author:** ![Backwater\_Under\_Duck](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/ba8739/32.png) [@Backwater\_Under\_Duck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Backwater_Under_Duck)\ **Post date:** [March 24, 2017, 1:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/it-doesnt-help-most-people-will-likely-associate-super-hero-with-marvel-or-dc-trademark-thread/782855/20 "2017-03-24T01:22:33Z")
> [@Kadmos1](#): > > So, considering that the word “superhero” didn’t originate with them (dates back to about a century ago) and despite both companies on that word/variants, would I be easily setting up myself for a lawsuit if I put that word in a book title (you make get a pass if it was a book on how-to-draw or about the history of)? It doesn’t help most peoplewill likely associate “super hero” with Marvel or DC. > > For clarification, only that word/variants (“super-hero”, “superhero”, “super-heroine”, and “super heroine”) would be on the cover. Two companies having a TM on what is clearly a generic TM should mean they lose the TM, unless it was something like “DC Super Hero Girls”). > [@kenobi\_65](#): > > Marvel and DC have apparently [been jointly claiming trademark](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Superhero#Trademark_status) (Wikipedia link) on various versions of the term “Super Hero” since the 1960s. While it looks like the issue of whether the term can legally be trademarked has been debated for a very long time, it sounds like the trademarks are, at this point, still in force. > > In other words: people with more legal training (and more money for litigation) than the OP have pursued this, for literally **decades** , and those trademarks are still around. Can we at least point out that slapping a [TM] on something is way different than obtaining a (registered) [®]. [TM] is a claim of a registered trademark. [®] is the real deal. Simply claiming a trademark doesn’t mean you own it. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/it-doesnt-help-most-people-will-likely-associate-super-hero-with-marvel-or-dc-trademark-thread/782855.md?page=2)