DC Comics launches batty lawsuit against Valencia FC over team crest's likeness to the Batman shield
DC Comics is suing Spanish football side Valencia FC over the use of a bat of its team crest.
The publisher, which owns the rights to Batman, was in particular unhappy with the team’s use of the bat on its badge, which it felt was synonymous with the caped-crusader.
The lawsuit was filed to the Office for Harmonization in the Internal Market (OHIM), the trademark office of the European Union.
DC Comics has hit a stumbling point with its claim however on the realisation that the football team was formed in 1919, before the creation of Batman, while the bat also has made an appearance on the city of Valencia’s coat of arms.
Batman was not published until 1939 with the hero’s symbol going through continuous change ever since it was first introduced.
The evolution of the Batman Logo, from 1940 to the present. pic.twitter.com/fYCwymaRN2
— History Pics (@ThatsHistory) November 18, 2014