Superheroes may be impervious to most attacks, but they are not immune to trademark infringement. Hasbro’s Transformers franchise features a robot named “Bumblebee” for which it filed the trademark “BUMBLEBEE” in July of 2015 for toys.
Hasbro has now filed a suit against Warner Bros. and DC Comics alleging trademark infringement as a result of new “Bumblebee” action figure in the DC Super Hero Girls line. The DC character was first introduced in 1977 as part of the Teen Titans comic series, although its action figures for the hero are new.
Hasbro, which has sold its Bumblebee action figures since 1983, claims that consumers are likely to be confused as to the source of the DC toy.
Despite the differences between the superheroes, their names have put them on opposite sides of a fight that will not likely end quietly.
Source: Variety
