Comic-Con Naming Rights Battle Soon To Be Resolved

The long-running dispute for naming rights between San Diego Comic Con and its Salt Lake City counterpart will soon find itself in front of a federal district court judge. After settlement talks between the two comic conventions fizzled, both parties have approached a federal judge to rule over the case.

In the original lawsuit filings, officials with SDCC that the organizers of Salt Lake ComicCon are trying to capitalize the larger convention’s “ingenuity and hardwork” over using the Comic Con language in the name of their event.

“We remain hopeful that a settlement may still be reached, or that a preliminary judgment will be made in the favor of comic con fans and comic con promoters around the world,” said Dan Farr, Salt Lake Comic Con co-founder.

According to the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) online database, San Diego Comic Convention Corporation — the parent company behind San Diego Comic-Con and WonderCon — owns several trademarks included “San Diego Comic-Con,” “Anaheim Comic-Con,” “WonderCon,” and “Comic-Con.”

Of note, a trademark for “Comic Con” had been previously filed on July 26, 1995 and was registered to San Diego Comic Con, Inc., a different business entity than the current company behind the convention. Regardless, the hyphen-less trademark was abandoned on April 19, 1999.

While the Salt Lake Comic Con was previously awarded a trademark for their name by the USPTO, that ruling has since been suspended dependent on the current ongoing litigation.

The case was originally slated for September 21 of this year, but the date will likely be pushed back as Salt Lake’s annual event kicks off that day.

San Diego Comic-Con — one of the largest of its kind — is slated to get underway later this month.

[H/T San Diego Union-Tribune]