The Fate of the Linguistic Commons and the Future of Comic Con

Jury trials over genericness are scarce as hen's teeth. In San Diego Comic Convention v. Dan Farr Productions, LLC, et al., No. 14-cv-1865 (S.D. Cal.), however, a jury was asked to decide whether COMICCON is a proprietary mark owned by San Diego Comic Convention, producer of Comic Con International: San Diego (SDCC) -- or whether instead it is generic for "comic convention," as alleged by the producers of FanX Salt Lake Comic Convention nee Salt Lake Comic Con (SLCC). The jury found in favor of SDCC and against SLCC. Various in limine rulings shaped the trial and, thus, the jury's verdict. This article briefly explores how those threads -- the relevance of origins to the genericness inquiry, the public interest, and the use of private licensing to shape a cultural movement -- came together in the comic con case and are playing out in its aftermath. The organization is generally chronological.