The U.S. District Court for the Central District of California handed a big victory to Warner Bros. when it ruled that Gotham Garage violated Warner Bros.’ intellectual property rights in the iconic Batmobile.  There was a question whether Warner Bros.’ rights in the Batman franchise would prohibit the production of an automobile designed like the Batmobile since the Copyright Act does not protect automobile designs.  The Court found that the Batmobile was a protectable character of the Batman franchise and the replicas manufactured by defendant were infringing derivative works.

Gotham Garage manufactured and produced custom cars modeled after vehicles found in various television shows and movies. It had been producing and selling replica vehicles based on the 1966 and 1989 Batmobiles. Gotham Garage also manufactured automobile parts featuring the Batman trademarks and did business in a manner utilizing various Batman trademarks. Warner Bros. filed a lawsuit In May 2011 alleging that Gotham Garage infringed the copyrighted versions of the 1966 and 1989 Batmobile and infringed various Batman trademarks in the marketing and selling of its custom vehicles.

The court made easy work of the trademark claims. The Court noted that Gotham Garage did not contest Warner Bros.’ trademark claims, and did not dispute that it manufactured and distributed parts and accessories featuring the Batman trademarks and used the Batman trademarks in connection with the operation of its business.  The Court found that Gotham Garage’s use of the Batman trademarks caused a likelihood of confusion; that consumers were likely to be confused as to the source of the products.  The defendant admitted that “most of his potential customers ask if he had a relationship with Warner Bros. or was licensed by Warner Bros.”   The Court found that this initial interest and confusion impermissively capitalizes on the goodwill associated with the Batman trademarks.
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