So this dude has made a lot of rich white nerds happy by providing them with replicas of the Batmobile. But DC Comics was all, "Awwwww hell naw, yo!!" And sued him for trademark and copyright infringement.
Mark Towle, who previously created unlicensed replicas of the 1966 and 1989 Batmobiles,petitioned the high court in January to consider his five-year-old dispute with DC Comics. The company had sued Towle in 2011, claiming his Gotham Garage violated its trademarks and copyrights by manufacturing the replicas, which he sold for about $90,000 each.
Towle argued that the U.S. Copyright Act doesn’t protect “useful articles,” defined as objects that have “an intrinsic utilitarian function” (for example, clothing, household appliances or, in this case, automobile functions); in short, that the Batmobile’s design is merely functional.
Mark went back and forth with different levels in the court of appeals, but still the same result, I still have no clue what it means for Mark Towle or his super powers of making people feel better about themselves. Is this where Obama's America has gotten us? Why can't we make replicas of awesome cars from awesome TV shows and movies that get crappy gas mileage? Obviously there's a demand for the cars. If DC Comics,Warner Brothers or CBS wanted to get in on the money, they could have set up their own garage or contracted people to help them out right?
I dropped out of school before I could get my copyright and trademark certificate.
For the whole story go check out Robot 6.
