Holy hot rod! Supreme Court won't review ruling giving Batmobile copyright protection
Batmobile replica. Erin Cadigan / Shutterstock.com
The U.S. Supreme Court this week let stand a federal appeals ruling that found the Batman’s Batmobile is entitled to copyright protection.
The Supreme Court denied cert on Monday, report the Los Angeles Times, the Associated Press and Bloomberg BNA’s Intellectual Property Blog.
The San Francisco-based 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled in September that the Batmobile from the original DC Comics series is a literary character entitled to copyright protection. The decision was a loss for Southern California mechanic Mark Towle, who had been selling Batmobile replicas.
Literary characters usually have no copyright protection apart from the work in which they appear, the Intellectual Property Blog explains. But characters with specific, defined characteristics can gain protection as works in themselves.
DC Comics is the original copyright holder. Using a three-part test, the appeals court said its Batmobile was entitled to copyright protection because the car’s distinctive “bat-like” appearance had been consistent over time.
The case is DC Comics v. Towle.
