Monday, January 7, 2013

DC Comics’ ‘Batmobile’ Case Set for Jan. 30 Motion Hearing


A hearing is scheduled for Jan. 30 in the copyright- infringement case Time Warner Inc. (TWX)’s DC Comics unit brought against a builder of custom autos.

DC Comics sued Mark Towle of Santa Ana, California, in federal court in Los Angeles in March 2011, claiming he infringed copyrights by producing replica Batmobiles through his Gotham Garage.

The court will hear both sides’ presentations on motions for dismissal of the case, according to a Dec. 26 filing.

That document specifies that Towle has made and distributed copies of the Batmobile seen in the 1996 “Batman” television series, and car kits with which others could also reconfigure their cars to resemble the Batmobile. Towel didn’t stipulate that his replicas contained all the “separable, non-functional, artistic elements” that DC Comics contends it owns.

The joint statement specifies that all the stipulations the parties made in that document are valid only in connection with the motion for dismissal of the case. Should the case go forward beyond that point, the stipulations would have “no force and effect,” according to the statement.

The case is DC Comics v. Mart Towle, 2:11-cv-03934-RSWL-OP, U.S. District Court, Central District of California (Los Angeles).

Source: http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2013-01-07/kodak-disney-apple-dc-comics-intellectual-property.html?cmpid=yhoo


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