SDCC fires back at SLCC

24 JULY 2015

 

If you were wondering what CCI had to say about Salt Lake Comic Con's victory lap yesterday, the answer is quite a lot - delivered in their characteristically stiff and inimitable manner, of course. I realized today I've grown rather fond of the stilted statements and emails that emerge from the CCI office. If their communication team is ever replaced by a league of silver-tongued poets, I'm going to have to protest.

Anyhow. San Diego Comic-Con is unfazed by Salt Lake Comic Con's trademark win; they countered with a whole bunch of legal details no doubt intended to chill SLCC's flush of triumph. Paraphrasing wouldn't do it justice so here it is from Bleeding Cool:

 "We were less surprised by the registration than we were of the organizers’ take on it. As there is no opposition process for a Supplemental Registration we of course were not able to oppose it, however we are engaging this matter as part of the normal course of protecting our already granted and incontestable trademarks.”

That's from David Glanzer, CCI's fearless spokesperson. But their attorney Peter Hahn really dishes it out: 

 "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.’ Contrary to Dan Farr Production’s statement, the Supplemental Registration will have no effect on the on-going infringement litigation in San Diego. San Diego Comic Convention will continue to protect its incontestable rights in the Comic-Con mark until Dan Farr Productions discontinues infringement of the Comic-Con mark—even if that means having the Court force Dan Farr Productions to comply with the law.”

 

Good grief. This is like listening to a spurned lover carry on months after anyone else would have let it go. One hypothetical silver lining: maybe an enterprising filmmaker will make a documentary about this and enter it in the SDCC 2016 IFF. I will throw the after-party myself if that happens.