Howdy, Stranger!

It looks like you're new here. Sign in or register to get started.

Which numskull is in charge of these kinds of decisions at DC Entertainment? | (Non-comic related)

bralinatorbralinator Posts: 5,967
A memorial to a Canadian boy who loved to dress up as Superman before he was starved to death by his abusive grandparents will not be allowed to use the Superman logo. DC Entertainment refused to allow the famous “S” to be used on a memorial to honor five-year-old Jeffrey Baldwin who died in 2002.

Todd Boyce, an Ottowa resident who heard Jeffrey’s story after his death, has raised money for a statue of the boy, and wanted to see him depicted in his Superman costume. Jeffrey’s father Richard testified in court that before his teenage parents lost custody, Jeffrey loved to dress up as the superhero and pretend to fly.

“He wanted to fly,” Baldwin said, according to CBC News. “He tried jumping off the chair. We had to make him stop. He dressed up [as Superman] for Halloween one year. He was so excited. I have that picture at home hanging on my wall. He was our little man of steel.”

image


The company confirmed that the memorial could not use the logo, but made no further comment on the issue.

http://time.com/2963473/memorial-to-murdered-boy-denied-request-to-use-superman-logo/

http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/toronto/memorial-statue-of-jeffrey-baldwin-not-allowed-to-use-superman-logo-1.2698795

Comments

  • GregGreg Posts: 1,946
    I understand the symbol is DC's property, but I would have just used the symbol anyways. To hell with DC, if they don't like it they can come try to take the statue down themselves. Good luck getting through all of the people physically surrounding it whom are all prepared to kick your sorry arses out of town.

    Yeah, by allowing it may set the precedent for other memorials to be made in this way, but how much harm is there in allowing the symbol to be used in this manner.
  • nweathingtonnweathington Posts: 6,736
    Cory Doctorow wrote a great piece on trademark law last year. He's talking about British trademark law, but our trademark law is much more in line with Britain’s than our copyright laws, and pretty much every thing he says applies here in the States as well.
  • bralinatorbralinator Posts: 5,967
    I fully understand the legalities. And most bikers and t-shirt printers and the like would never bother to ask DC in the first place. In the end, it's still DC's decision and in this case they could have offered to license it out for a very small fee.
  • nweathingtonnweathington Posts: 6,736
    edited July 2014

    I fully understand the legalities. And most bikers and t-shirt printers and the like would never bother to ask DC in the first place. In the end, it's still DC's decision and in this case they could have offered to license it out for a very small fee.

    I would have written more, but I was at work.

    @bralinator, did you read the article? Doctorow goes into all aspects of trademark protection: the good, the bad, and the unnecessary lawyering. It's a good read, even if you know the technical legalities.

    It boils down to this: Does DC have to protect its trademarks? Yes. Does this particular case threaten any of their trademarks? Not in the least. Corporate lawyers tend to react first and analyze later, if at all, whether in the best interest of their clients or simply to justify their existence is debatable.

    Just like copyright law, trademark law needs reform.
  • fredzillafredzilla Posts: 2,131
    Apparently DC just switched their position.
    image
  • Mr_CosmicMr_Cosmic Posts: 3,200
    edited July 2014
    Good news!

    I disagreed with how this went down but it was hard to get too upset about it because when the story blew up I knew this outcome was inevitable.
  • WetRatsWetRats Posts: 6,314
    fredzilla said:

    Apparently DC just switched their position.
    image

    Gee.

    What a surprise.
  • GregGreg Posts: 1,946
    Good on DC, happy to see they came around on this.
  • SolitaireRoseSolitaireRose Posts: 1,445
    Glad they worked things out!
  • bralinatorbralinator Posts: 5,967
    That is an excellent outcome! Thanks for the update @fredzilla
Sign In or Register to comment.