Unmasking the "Super Hero" Trademark: A Win for Superbabies

Marvel Comics and DC Comics jointly held trademark registration for the terms “Super Hero” and “Super Heroes” since the 1970s. They had successfully defended these trademarks in the US and internationally until this September , when they did not respond to a challenge to their exclusive rights.

Earlier this year, DC Comics attempted to block the promotion of the series, “The Super Babies”, comics featuring “superhero” babies. The company behind the series, Superbabies Limited, initiated a petition for trademark cancellation arguing, among other claims, that these phrases were generic, referring to a genre and character archetype rather than a specific brand. Superbabies backed up their argument with historical evidence, showing widespread usage of these terms in media and third-party products.

When DC and Marvel did not respond to court requests regarding the challenge to their joint trademark, the USPTO and the Trademark Trial and Appeal Board granted a default judgement, effective Sep 26, 2024. While this won’t directly impact what Marvel and DC can print or use, it does mean that they no longer “own” rights to the terms “Super Hero” or “Super Heros”. Perhaps they decided not to engage to avoid the bad PR of a potential loss on generic grounds.

Lead counsel for Superbabies, Adam Adler, argues this is a win for creativity and innovation, and that “Super Heroes” belongs in the public domain. A related challenge by DC Comics over the use of “super” as a prefix is still pending.

The case is Superbabies Ltd v. Marvel Characters Inc, Trademark Trial and Appeal Board, Cancellation No. 92085201