Holy copyright law, Batman!
— Judge Sandra S. Ikuta of the Ninth Circuit, employing the famous exclamatory catchphrase used by Batman’s sidekick, Robin, in the introduction to a recent opinion where she, writing on behalf of a unanimous three-judge panel that included Judges Michael J. Melloy and Jay S. Bybee, granted DC Comics the right to assert copyright protection for the Batmobile.
In the underlying case, DC Comics filed suit against Mark Towle, the owner of Gotham Garage, who is known for making replicas of the Batmobile. After learning of the loss, Towle’s lawyer, Larry Zerner, said, “We didn’t copy the design of the car in the comic book, and we didn’t copy any of the character attributes. It’s just a car. These automobiles don’t fight crime.”
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