The Latest on a court battle between rival pop-culture conventions over the phrase « comic con. » (all times local):
SAN DIEGO (AP) – The Latest on a court battle between rival pop-culture conventions over the phrase « comic con. » (all times local):
5 p.m.
A jury is siding with San Diego Comic-Con in a court battle with a rival pop-culture convention in Utah over naming rights to the phrase « comic con. »
Salt Lake City-based KUTV reports the jury decided Friday Salt Lake Comic Con used the trademark without permission. They awarded the California event $20,000, far less than the $12 million they’d sought.
Utah organizer Dan Farr says they plan to appeal.
San Diego lawyers argue Salt Lake City stole their name to benefit from their work. Utah organizers contend the phrase is generic and used by 140 different events nationwide.
San Diego Comic-Con, considered the flagship of the popular convention circuit, filed the trademark violation lawsuit in 2014 against the rapidly growing Salt Lake convention. Both are known for guests elaborately costumed as superheros and movie villains.
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4:15 p.m.
A jury is deliberating in a court battle between rival pop-culture conventions in California and Utah who are battling over the phrase « comic con. »
The Deseret News reports the panel weighed the case for a second day Friday. Lawyers for the San Diego convention argued at trial the upstart event in Salt Lake stole their name to benefit from their decades of hard work.
Salt Lake, though, maintains the phrase is a generic shortened form of « comic book convention » that’s used by 140 different events around the country.
San Diego Comic-Con, considered the flagship of the popular convention circuit, filed the trademark violation lawsuit in 2014 against the rapidly growing Salt Lake convention. Both are known for guests elaborately costumed as superheros, movie villains and more.
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