Update Regarding Lawsuit Involving Whether the Batmobile Enjoys Copyright Protection

A while ago, I wrote about a lawsuit wherein DC Comics and its parent company, Warner Bros. sued a gentleman who was making replica Batmobiles.  The defendant, Mark Towle makes replicas of the Batmobile that appeared in the 1960's television show starring Adam West as Batman and the 1989 movie with Michael Keaton playing the role of Batman.

In case you missed it, here is what the 1966 television version of the Batmobile looked like:



And, what it looked like in the 1989 movie:



As I wrote in my earlier piece, the court determined that the design elements of the Batmobile were not functional, and therefore, may be subject to copyright.  That ruling by the court meant that the next issue (or one of them) was whether the Batmobile was actually subject to copyright protection.  Well, the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals settled the issue in favor of DC Comics and Warner Bros.  In so finding, the court found that the Batmobile's bat-like appearance and other distinct design elements like its high-tech weaponry, made it copyright-able.  In addition, the court noted that Mr. Towle appeared to try to use the Batmobile's fame in marketing it.  In particular, he had the website batmobilereplicas.com and advertised the vehicles as the "Batmobile."