DC Comics v. Towle’s Empirical Analysis
802 F.3d 1012 · 2015
Citation profile
2 federal appellate ·
How this case has been cited
Cited by 14 later decisions — most recently July 2023
2 federal appellate ·
Later decisions citing this case, by decade. The current decade is in progress, and our corpus holds fewer opinions from the most recent years, so the latest bars are undercounted — not a real decline.
Relationships
Applies 17 U.S.C. § 101 (§ 101 of the Copyright Act of 1976) · 17 U.S.C. § 102 (§ 101 of the Copyright Act of 1976) · 17 U.S.C. § 103 (§ 101 of the Copyright Act of 1976) · 17 U.S.C. § 106 (§ 101 of the Copyright Act of 1976) · 17 U.S.C. § 201 (§ 101 of the Copyright Act of 1976) · 17 U.S.C. § 501 (§ 101 of the Copyright Act of 1976) · 28 U.S.C. § 1291
Relies on Stewart v. Abend · Durham Industries, Inc. v. Tomy Corp. · Entertainment Research Group, Inc. v. Genesis Creative Group, Inc. · Lindy Pen Company Inc v. Bic Pen Corporation · Walt Disney Productions v. Air Pirates
Most-quoted passages
The sentences later courts lift from this opinion, ranked by how many decisions quote each — the parts of the opinion doing the work. These counts are smaller than the citation total above because most of the 14 citing decisions cite the case generally; a passage count includes only decisions quoting that exact language verbatim.
“[C]opyright protection is available only for characters that are especially distinctive. To meet this standard, a character must be sufficiently delineated and display consistent, widely identifiable traits.”
2 later decisions quote this exact passage · from the majority“In addition to its status as “a highly-interactive vehicle, equipped with high-tech gadgets and weaponry used to aid Batman in fighting crime,” the Batmo-bile is almost always bat-like in appearance, with a bat-themed front end, bat wings extending from the top or back of the car, exaggerated fenders, a curved windshield, and bat emblems on the vehicle. This bat-like appearance has been a consistent theme throughout the comic books, television series, and motion picture, even though the precise nature "of the bat-like characteristics' have changed from tinieto time. The Batmobile also has consistent character traits and attributes. No matter its specific physical appearance, the Batmo-bile is a “crime-fighting” car with sleek and powerful characteristics that allow Batman to maneuver quickly while he fights villains. In the comic books, the Batmobile is described as waiting “[l]ike an impatient steed straining at the reins... shiyer[ing] as its super-charged motor throbs with energy” before it “tears after the fleeing hoodlums” an instant later... .Furthermore, the Bat-mobile has an ability to maneuver that far exceeds that of-an ordinary car. In the 1966. television series, the Batmobile can perform an “emergency bat turn” via reverse thrust rockets. Likewise, in the 1989 motion picture, the Batmobile can enter “Batmissile” mode, in which the Batmobile sheds “all material outside [the] central fuselage” and reconfigures its “wheels and axles to fit through narrow openings.” ”
1 later decision quote this exact passage · from the majority“Willful trademark infringement occurs when the defendant's actions are 'willfully calculated to exploit the advantage of an established mark.'”
1 later decision quote this exact passage · from the majority
How this case has been treated — in progress
Whether each later court followed, distinguished, criticized, or overruled this decision. The treatment classification (task #35) runs highest-cited cases first and lights up here as it reaches this one.