Batman emerges victorious in EU trademark fight

Batman foiled an Italian retailer Wednesday as DC Comics successfully defended its trademark in the European Union.

Reuters reported that the Luxembourg-based General Court, Europe's second top court, ruled in favor of Warner Bros. Discovery's DC Comics more than two decades after it registered its Batman logo with the European Union Intellectual Property Office. Commerciale Italiana Srl had filed a challenge to the logo in 2019, arguing that it lacked a distinctive character and that it should be allowed for usage on clothing and carnival items.

"The evidence submitted to the General Court is not sufficient to show that the EU trade mark representing a bat in an oval surround was devoid of distinctive character on the date of filing of the application for registration," the court ruled, according to the report.

"For the relevant public, that distinctiveness makes it possible to associate, according to EUIPO, the goods covered by the trade mark with DC Comics and to distinguish them from those of other undertakings," it added.

Commerciale Italiana Srl will be allowed to appeal its case to the EU Court of Justice, the top European court.

The court victory comes ahead of the Caped Crusader's latest big-screen appearance. Both Ben Affleck and Michael Keaton play Batman in "The Flash," which is in theaters starting June 16.