INTA Daily News

Trademark attorneys were introduced to Spawn on May 4, 2004, in a session titled "From Concept to Craze – The Development of a Fictitious Character," held in Marriott Marquis Ballroom 3/4. Marsha Hoover of Davis Mannix & McGrath explained how the failure of the writer and the creator of the Spawn comic book character to negotiate a written contract meant that a dispute over who owned the intellectual property rights ended in a lawsuit. 

Neil Gaiman, who wrote for the Spawn comic, claimed that he was owed royalties from the sale of figures based on the characters in the book. But Todd McFarlane, the book’s publisher, disputed the claim. 

“What makes character work so much fun is that you get to work with creative people. What makes character work so challenging is that you get to work with creative people,” said Hoover. 

She explained the issues that lawyers need to advise on when their clients are considering creating their own, or adopting someone else’s, fictitious character – from developing a memorable creature to naming it and registering its image as a trademark. 

Since most companies have a limited budget to protect their IP rights, she advised in-house counsel to file for trademarks first in the character’s home country, and then to consider registering the mark in first-to-file jurisdictions and countries that pose the biggest counterfeiting risk. If the character is to be aired on TV shows abroad, companies should file their marks there, as well as in neighboring countries where TV viewers may be able to receive the show in broadcast bleed-over. 

Anne-Virginie Gaide La Spada of BMG Avocats warned of the risks character owners face if they fail to use their registered trademarks or present their characters in different clothes or with a different expression.


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