SALT LAKE CITY — About two weeks after it was announced that no settlement had been reached in the legal dispute between the organizers of San Diego Comic-Con and Salt Lake Comic Con over the use of the words “comic con”, the organizers of the Salt Lake City event announced they had been granted a trademark to Salt Lake Comic Con.
According to a press release from event organizers, the United States Patent and Trademark Office granted Dan Farr Productions the trademark for the name Salt Lake Comic Con.
The trademark was issued July 14 and is for, “Education and entertainment services, namely, organizing, producing, and conducting conventions in the fields of gaming, comics, television, movies, technology, science fiction, fantasy, and popular culture for entertainment purposes.”
The release states the trademark specifies that the group is not claiming an exclusive right to use the term “comic con” except as part of the trademark for “Salt Lake Comic Con”. Earlier this month, the lawyers for both groups were unable to reach a settlement and it seemed likely the case will go to trial, click here for details.
Bryan Brandenburg, Salt Lake Comic Con Co-Founder and CFO, stated they anticipate the development will help make their case should a trial be necessary.
“The United States Patent and Trademark Office had already ruled that ‘comic con’ was ‘nondescript’ and now they have granted us a trademark for ‘Salt Lake Comic Con'” he stated in the press release. “We’re confident that this decision from the USTPO will virtually eliminate this ongoing legal battle and allow us to prepare for another record-breaking show this September. By granting us a trademark for ‘Salt Lake Comic Con’, the trademark office is literally declaring our right to not only use comic con in our name, but that we are distinguished in the marketplace. It further declares that San Diego’s trademarked name is NOT ‘confusingly similar’ to our trademarked name, which is the nexus of the lawsuit.”
San Diego Comic-Con had a different take on the issue, saying in a statement they were, “less surprised by the registration than we were of the organizer’s take on it.”
In the statement, the other group argues the “issuance of a Supplemental Register Registration has no effect on San Diego Comic Convention’s exclusive rights afforded by its Principle Register Registrations for various marks including the mark ‘Comic-Con.'”
See the embedded document below for the full press release from San Diego Comic-Con.
San Diego Comic-Con responds to Salt Lake Comic Con TM press release by kstumarkgreen
Salt Lake Comic Con 2015 is scheduled for September 24-26 at the Salt Palace Convention Center in Salt Lake City, and, according to the press release, the event is the third largest comic con in the country. For more information, visit their website.
