DC Comics mulls ‘Joker’ and ‘Superhero Chefs’ TM oppositions
DC Comics is investigating whether to oppose three trademark applications, one of which features a superhero cartoon character and another including the word ‘Joker’.
Last week, the comic book company filed three requests with the US Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) for a time extension to oppose the applied-for trademarks.
The first trademark, ‘Superhero Chefs SC’, covers restaurant services. Darnell Ferguson, the founder and owner of Louisville, Kentucky-based SuperChefs, applied for the trademark back in March this year.
Ferguson first opened his restaurant in 2012 after working as a chef for the US team at the 2008 Beijing Olympics. He now owns additional restaurants.
DC Comics also submitted a request to extend its time to oppose for a trademark featuring a superhero cartoon character.
Applied for by Florida-based Another Blockchain Company in November last year, the trademark covers goods in class 42, including computer software development.
The company appears to own the website www.superdapps.com, which provides a directory of decentralised applications for all blockchain platforms in multiple languages.
Finally, DC Comics also appears to be investigating whether to oppose ‘Joker’, a trademark applied-for by Hong Kong NetEase Interactive Entertainment, which appears to be a unit of Chinese internet technology company NetEase.
Next month, the origin story of Joker, a DC Comics character, will be released in cinemas. The film, “ Joker”, stars Joaquin Phoenix as the villain. The film premiered at the 76th Venice International Film Festival in August.
NetEase applied for the trademark, which covers computer games, back in March this year.
The USPTO has granted all three extensions.
Earlier in August, DC Comics opposed ‘Super Woman Super Lawyer’, a trademark applied for by personal injury lawyer Maryam Parman. According to the comic book company, her trademark is too similar to its own marks, including ‘Superwoman’ and ‘Supergirl’.
BleedingCool, a news site which focuses on games, comics, films and TV, first broke the news of DC Comics’ filings.
Did you enjoy reading this story? Sign up to our free daily newsletters and get stories like this sent straight to your inbox.
Today's top stories:
Ariana Grande sues Forever 21 for $10m over ‘fake’ social media campaign
