Comments on: Iron Maiden's lawsuit is 'outrageous,' comic creator says

By: John

John — Wed, 13 May 2009 22:00:17 +0000

Cassandrah, I believe you may be underestimating the global popularity of Iron Maiden. They were one of the top UK artists of 2008 (alongside the Police, Coldplay, Elton John and others). They have sold between 65-80 million albums worldwide.

From BBC news (April 6, 2009):
"The money made by UK artists overseas increased by £20m last year, the organisation that collects and pays their royalties has said. It said international tours by big UK acts including The Police and Iron Maiden had boosted income."

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/entertainment/7985461.stm

By: Cassandrah

Cassandrah — Sat, 09 May 2009 12:33:48 +0000

Get real. Iron Maiden is just probably trying to get some publicity. Geeze...

By: Jab

Jab — Fri, 08 May 2009 02:18:23 +0000

of course i meant the comic will have the logo change, not the band. silly jabbers.

By: Jab

Jab — Fri, 08 May 2009 02:17:42 +0000

comic book psychic - the band will change the logo so it looks like it says iron and the maiden and not iron maiden. the end.

By: Kevin Melrose

Kevin Melrose — Thu, 07 May 2009 23:08:41 +0000

Thanks for the link, John.

By: John

John — Thu, 07 May 2009 23:04:15 +0000

I recommend reading the complaint (or at least skimming it):

http://www.scribd.com/doc/15003737/Iron-Maiden-Holdings-Limited-v-Iron-and-the-Maiden-LLC-Morgan-Rose-LLC-and-Jason-Rubin-Case-No-09cv3102-CD-Cal-Filed-May-4-2009-

Page 10 gives insight as to why the band most likely decided to sue.

By: Alan Coil

Alan Coil — Thu, 07 May 2009 18:05:48 +0000

Perry said:

"Popeye the Sailor also has no relation to Popeye’s Chicken. "

Obviously. Chicken is what what real people eat. Popeye eats spinach.

By: A-newton

A-newton — Thu, 07 May 2009 17:56:24 +0000

Ed:
The argument isn't that the pre-existance of the iron maiden invalidates their trademark claim, it's that it demonstrates how incredibly weak their claim to the mark across industries is.

You mention Apple Computers. Apple, Inc (computer maker) and Apple Publishing (often called Apple Music) had a trademark fight over the word Apple. The resolution of that Trademark dispute centered around Apple Computers staying out of the music business. Which goes back to what we've been saying about marks crossing industries. It's the same situation with the word Whopper that you discuss in your post.

And of course, when Apple Computers got into the music business, that fight started up again, as well it should have. I'm not sure how that case ended up, if it is even yet resolved.

Fortunately for the publisher, much of establishing a trademark in publishing comes down to actually PUBLISHING material using the mark. The fact that other bands have published comics does little to help Iron Maiden's claim to the mark on a comic book.

By: A-newton

A-newton — Thu, 07 May 2009 17:45:30 +0000

Anthony: No, it is NOT true for any trademark. "Iron Maiden" is NOT constructed solely as a mark of trade. You've already acknowleged pre-existance of the term "iron maiden", and I'll come back to that in a moment. While the parts of the mark "Coca-Cola" are formed from individual words which are otherwise known in our language, the term "Coca-Cola" is NOT and WAS NOT. Defending marks is part of retaining the right to the mark. Of COURSE they have defended it... you HAVE to if you want to keep it. That doesn't change the fact the the mark "Coca-Cola" was not an existing term before it was created for use as the company's mark. Now, on the subject of Trademark Dilution - dilution is a law used to protect a mark from use in other industries in order to prevent that mark from losing identification with a single source. To qualify for protection under the trademark dilution law, the mark must be so strong that the name is uniquely identified with a certain product, service, business, etc. Ordinary words in language (i.e. pre-existing terms such as "Iron Maiden") and surnames do not qualify for dilution protection. LEGO, Kool-aid, Xerox, Chevrolet, these are the types of trademarks that qualify for protection from dilution. No matter how you cut it, the fact that the term "iron maiden" pre-dates the band by hundreds of years is completely material to the case.

By: Ed

Ed — Thu, 07 May 2009 17:33:58 +0000

Actually, the fact that an iron maiden is a medieval torture device that pre-dates both rock and roll and comic books does little to invalidate the band's trademark claim. If you buy that logic, then brand names from Apple Computers to Tide Detergent are invalid because their names refer to natural phenomenon which certainly pre-date the products that they are trademarked for.

What may get the comic off the hook is the fact that the comic exists in a different format (i.e. - books/comics) than the band (music). One of the posters above hit on this when comparing Whoppers candy with the Burger King burger known as the Whopper. However, the fact that there is some history of bands within this very genre (metal) crossing over into comics (Kiss certainly comes to mind) may actual give Iron Maiden's claim some legal traction - it's reasonable to envision how a fan of the band may actual think the comic is associated with the band given the history of metal bands dabbling in the comic industrty. I think it can also be argued that metal fans are often comic fans as well, which could contribute to the band's argument that this constitutes a bona fide case of trademark infringement.

Could be wrong. Just my thoughts.