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DC Comics Loses Superman Copyright Lawsuit Against Indonesian Snack Company
by Neil Cole
The Central Jakarta Commercial Court in Indonesia has ruled against DC Comics in a copyright infringement lawsuit which the comic book publisher had filed against the PT Marxing Fam Makmur food and beverage company.
The lawsuit was in regard to the Marxing's use of Superman branding on various snack products such as chocolate wafer biscuits and choco-nut bars. The company had manufactured the snacks based on their registration of the trademark to Superman in Indonesia back in 1993.
DC argued in court that Marxing had possible malicious intent for registering the Superman trademark without prior permission or approval and that the Man of Steel character is a brand known worldwide, including Indonesia.
However, the Commercial Court Judge found in favor of Marxing based on the company's 1993 trademark registration. An appeal filed by DC Comics to the Supreme Court of Indonesia was denied with the court stating, "The plaintiff's lawsuit cannot be accepted because it is obscure."
