Can a car count as a character when it comes to copyright infringement? That was the question put to a California judge when Warner Brothers, Inc., sued Mark Towle, owner and operator of the Gotham Garage. Towle built accurate replicas of the 1960s Batmobile made famous by George Barris and Adam West. Warner Brothers cried foul, lawsuits were filed, and the results are in.
The Hollywood Reporter says that the judge sided with Warner Brothers, saying that the Batmobile is most definitely a “character” and is thus protected by WB’s copyright filing. Mark Towle is probably not too happy to hear that.
The main points used to argue against Towle is that the judge deemed the Batmobile to be a character in and of its own right. Parsing through the legalese, the judge also found that since Towle used the Bat symbol in his advertising, and since customers apparently asked about his relationship with Warner Brothers, that he violated copyright law.
Also of interest is that Warner Brother showed proof that they could be interested in building competing custom cars based on the Batmobile. Whether that is just some legal trick, or officially sanctioned Batmobiles are actually underway, remains to be seen. But this ruling could impact how other custom car builders go about offering modifications and kits replicating famous movie cars. Towle himself also builds replicas of Speed Racer’s Mach 5 race car, which could also be copyrighted.
Could Warner Brothers have inadvertently brought about the end of a custom car niche? Will custom shops be sued if they create a one-off project for a customer? That remains to be seen, but this lawsuit could have far-ranging ramifications.
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