2020-11-25 @ 15:00 – 17:00 CET
Speaker: Yann Basire
The recent WIPO note entitled “Batman forever? Do overlapping trademark and copyright frameworks affect the franchising of comic characters?” explores the way in which copyright owners use the trade mark system to add another layer of protection for their famous characters.
Darren Tang, the new Director General of WIPO, expresses the idea that “Comic and other franchise characters like Batman have entertained generations of children and adults alike and are a great example of how intellectual property systems help to ensure these characters can adapt and remain popular even as technologies and platform evolve”.
It seems quite natural for copyright owners to try and register as a trade mark the name, appearance or the symbol of pop culture characters. But is this trend in line with the objectives and goals of the European trade mark system ? This talk will address this question.
