TTAB Not Amused by Effort to Defend Registration As Parody
On November 2, 2015 Scott Slavick's article, "Wham! Bam! You're Flattened, Batmen!" was published in InsideCounsel.com.
Holy Bat Logic, Batman! Doesn't Parody by Definition Rely on Confusion?
While imitation may be the sincerest form of flattery, parody can fall flat, says Scott Slavick in his recent article for InsideCounsel.com.
In DC Comics v. Gotham City Networking, Inc., Gotham City Networking sought to register the mark Gotham Batmen for business networking services and "entertainment in the nature of amateur softball games." But its parody defense went "Splat!" when a majority on the TTAB sustained an opposition, finding the sought-for marks confusingly similar to DC Comics' registered mark Batman for comic books and movies.
The right of the public to use words in a humorous and parodic manner does not extend to trademarks if such use is likely to cause confusion, said the Board. But Slavick notes that parody by definition relies on confusion, and suggests the majority's decision relies on circular logic for saying a parody is not a parody because it's potentially confusing.
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