Do you have a favorite Batmobile? Possibly the classic 1960’s version with the open canopy and the rocket engine made famous by the campy television series with Adam West and Burt Ward? Or, maybe the sleek black, monsters from the Tim Burton, Joel Schumacher, or Christopher Nolan Batman films? Regardless of which one is your favorite, what would you pay to own a reproduction of your favorite Batmobile and drive it around town?
Well, for a fleeting moment, you could have bought a Batmobile replica of your choice from a Southern California automobile manufacturing shop and instantly become the envy of your friends and neighbors (or just buy a black cape, sculpted cowl and fight crime in your spare time). Unfortunately for you, it’s now too late because the true owners of the intellectual property rights learned of this unusual business venture and, with the help of their local U.S. District Court, put a stop to it.
To read more about the case and how (and why) the Court ruled, click here for an article recently published in the July 2013 issue of The Orange County Lawyer.
