For a business that sold fictional characters with extraordinary or superhuman characters, would you say that SUPERHERO is a brand  name or a common name?

Law firm files for SUPERHERO LAWYERS for legal services. Marvel and DC, co-owners of incontestable registrations for SUPERHERO, oppose. Notice of opposition, with funny drawings, reproduced below, as well as applicant’s motion to dismiss. Alas, ridiculousness tends not to be a winning argument for a motion to dismiss.  Discussion of applicant’s dog as evidence of good faith here.

Trademark blog references to the SUPER HERO trademark over the years.

HT Ron Coleman.

Notice of Opp Superhero Lawyer

Motion to Dismiss Superhero Lawyer

In fact, at oral argument, both sides state that, based upon their research (which is consistent with the Court’s independent research), they were aware of no case ever in this Circuit where a court has, at the motion to dismiss stage, lacking an evidentiary record, dismissed a trademark claim on the grounds that a registered product or service name . . .was generic as a matter of law.”

Well, the motion still delayed the case 6 months.
Decision Fragrance Net Generic MTD

Although these references have been in popular use since the 1870′s, and owe more to Thomas Nast than to the Republicans themselves, back in the 1997 and 1995, respectively, the RNC trademarked the initials “GOP” and a stylized elephant showing three stars across its body. Relying on these trademarks, the RNC has been trying to suppress the use of the initials or an elephant to refer to Republicans generally, such as in the images that appear above and on the left.