Prepare for confusion.
In a lawsuit between San Diego Comic-Con vs Salt Lake Comic-Con over trademark violation, the jury has decided in SDCC’s favor.
SDCC filed a suit against Salt Lake Comic-Con over violation of the Comic-Con trademark. The jury found that SDCC’s trademark was valid, and that Salt Lake organizers Dan Farr and Bryan Brandenburg used it without permission. SDCC sought $12 million in damages. The jury only awarded them 20,000 as they found that the violation was not willful.
SDCC’s Statement:
San Diego Comic Convention has used the Comic-Con trademarks in connection with our comics and popular arts conventions for almost 50 years. We have invested substantial time, talent and resources in our brand resulting in world-wide recognition of the Comic-Con convention held annually in San Diego. The jury today upheld San Diego Comic Convention’s trademarks as valid. The jury also found that Dan Farr Productions, Daniel Farr and Bryan Brandenburg each infringed San Diego Comic Convention’s marks. San Diego Comic Convention respects the decision of the jury. From the beginning all that we asked of the defendants was to stop using our Comic-Con trademarks. Today we obtained a verdict that will allow us to achieve this. For that we are grateful.
Brandenburg states that they’re still deciding whether or not to appeal the decision. They already have proceedings underway with U.S trademark officials to have the Comic-Con trademark canceled. They also plan to keep using the Comic-Con name… for the time being. From an interview between FOX 13 and Brandenburg:
Yes, because there’s the appeals process and there’s a cancellation proceeding at the trademark office […] Now, after the motions go through and they get an injunction to change our name that might be a possibility. But as of now, we’re not required to change our name.
There’s… an awful lot of optimism there. As it stands, the decision could impact a large number of other comic conventions across the country. But Salt Lake Comic-Con hasn’t been impacted to the point of closure; they plan to hold it again next year.
Source: FOX 13
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