In a complaint filed Monday in California federal court, DC Comics, the publisher well known for creating Superman and his Justice League compatriots, claims the clothing manufacturer Mad Engine infringed on one of the company’s most iconic pieces of intellectual property: the Superman shield.
DC wants to stop sales of a shirt from Mad Engine featuring a design inspired by Superman’s logo, with the word “dad” where the character’s “S” would be (pictured). The publisher claims it never licensed the Superman logo for the shirt, which Mad Engine sold in Target (which is not a defendant) and on Target’s website, and wrote to Mad Engine requesting the company stop selling the shirt in a June 1 letter. It says Mad Engine did not respond until June 19 “in an effort to allow the Infringing T-Shirt to remain available for sale through Father’s Day” and refused.
The image on the shirt does not exactly match the marks DC has registered, which include the “S.” However, “the shield design on Defendant’s Infringing T-Shirt is substantially similar to DC Comics’ copyrighted Shield Design,” states the complaint. “DC Comics’ copyrighted Shield Design consists of a bordered five-sided shield in red and yellow, with the text inside the shield sized and positioned according to the proportions and shape of the shield. The shield design on Defendant’s Infringing T-Shirt incorporates each of these elements.”
Represented by Caldwell Leslie’s Michael Roth and Fross Zelnick’s James Weinberger and Emily Weiss, DC claims trademark and copyright infringement, dilution, and false advertising and unfair competition under California and federal laws.
The publisher is one of the oldest and biggest comics companies in the country, and like longtime competitor Marvel, has a considerable Hollywood presence via corporate owner Warner Bros. The studio is working on a DC “cinematic universe” launched with Zack Snyder’s Man of Steel in 2013 and set to continue with Snyder’s Batman v. Superman: Dawn of Justice in March 2016, with standalone movies for Wonder Woman, Aquaman and others planned. The publisher’s heroes have a TV presence on Warner Bros.’ part owned network The CW’s popular series Arrow and The Flash and upcoming DC’s Legends of Tomorrow, Fox’s Gotham and CBS’ upcoming Supergirl.
