In this Sept. 4, 2017, file photo, Jessica Nowan, left and Caitlin Grandstaff, right, stand in line for the Salt Lake Comic Con at the Salt Palace Convention Center, in Salt Lake City. There is a court battle between rival pop-culture conventions in California and Utah who are battling over rights to use the phrase “comic con.” (AP Photo/Rick Bowmer, File)
SAN DIEGO — A jury is siding with San Diego Comic-Con in a court battle with a rival pop-culture convention in Utah over naming rights to the phrase “comic con.”
Salt Lake City-based KUTV reports the jury decided Friday Salt Lake Comic Con used the trademark without permission. They awarded the California event $20,000, far less than the $12 million they’d sought.
Utah organizer Dan Farr says they plan to appeal.
San Diego lawyers argue Salt Lake City stole their name to benefit from their work. Utah organizers contend the phrase is generic and used by 140 different events nationwide.
San Diego Comic-Con, considered the flagship of the popular convention circuit, filed the trademark violation lawsuit in 2014 against the rapidly growing Salt Lake convention. Both are known for guests elaborately costumed as superheros and movie villains.