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Two superhero franchises are about to square off in federal court over the right to market “Bumblebee” toys.
Hasbro, owner of the Transformers brand, filed a lawsuit on Monday accusing Warner Bros. and DC Comics of trademark infringement. The suit claims that the DC “Bumblebee” — a teenage girl with the ability to shrink — could easily be confused with the Autobot “Bumblebee.”
Hasbro has a lot riding on the “Bumblebee” character, set to star in the first Transformers spinoff, which is due in theaters at Christmas 2018.
The company is now seeking to block the sales of Mattel’s Bumblebee toy, which is part of the DC Super Hero Girls line of action figures. Hasbro is also concerned about a Bumblebee Lego set.
DC Comics and Warner Bros. announced the DC Super Hero Girls franchise in April 2015 as a partnership with Mattel. The TV series began airing in October 2015. The series features younger versions of DC superheroes, including Batgirl and Harley Quinn, as they attend high school. The Bumblebee character is a tech wizard with super strength and the ability to shrink. The original Bumblebee character was first introduced in the DC “Teen Titans” comic series in 1977.
Hasbro filed for a trademark on the “Bumblebee” name on July 15, 2015, and the trademark was registered on Dec. 22, 2015.
Quantum Surge wrote:Ironic that Hasbro didn't use the name Bumblebee from Beast Wars to Cybertron.
JelZe GoldRabbit wrote:One key note: the lawsuit is only about the trademarked name in the Toys & Sports category, not the copyrighted character in fiction. The two characters have the same name in fiction, which is fine, but trademark law allows only one company to lay claim on it in a certain category. That's where the clash comes from, the right to use "Bumblebee" for the toys. Just felt like pointing that out. >:
Rodimus Knight wrote:This could end up with Hasbro losing the Bumblebee Name. They'll have to go with Autobot Bumblebee.
This could be hilarious.
Burn wrote:JelZe GoldRabbit wrote:One key note: the lawsuit is only about the trademarked name in the Toys & Sports category, not the copyrighted character in fiction. The two characters have the same name in fiction, which is fine, but trademark law allows only one company to lay claim on it in a certain category. That's where the clash comes from, the right to use "Bumblebee" for the toys. Just felt like pointing that out. >:
This needs to be quoted again in the hopes people actually read it and understand what this is about ...
Black Hat wrote:C'mon Hasbro. Don't be stupid.
Rodimus Knight wrote:This could end up with Hasbro losing the Bumblebee Name. They'll have to go with Autobot Bumblebee.
This could be hilarious.
Burn wrote:JelZe GoldRabbit wrote:One key note: the lawsuit is only about the trademarked name in the Toys & Sports category, not the copyrighted character in fiction. The two characters have the same name in fiction, which is fine, but trademark law allows only one company to lay claim on it in a certain category. That's where the clash comes from, the right to use "Bumblebee" for the toys. Just felt like pointing that out. >:
This needs to be quoted again in the hopes people actually read it and understand what this is about ...
o.supreme wrote:Black Hat wrote:C'mon Hasbro. Don't be stupid.
Exactly. I backed Hasbro 100% when Harmony Gold tried to make a frivolous lawsuit against them a couple years back because of a supposed Veritech likeness in one of their Jetfire toys (which we know has been sketchy since the beginning).
But the DC character of Bumblebee has been around for much longer than Transformers. She has been featured in at least 3 animated series in the past decade that have all supported merchandise of said character (Teen Titans, Young Justice, and now DC Girls) Hasbro has no case here.
JelZe GoldRabbit wrote:I will admit Hasbro going after DC Comics is brazen, yet smart as they're the owner of the character, yet silly as DC only deals with comics, not toys
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