The term ‘superhero’ would seem, at first glance, to be generic. That is to say, ‘superhero’ may be a word or term used to refer to any caped, masked or costumed crusader who fights crime, whether super powered, inhuman, demigod, or genius playboy billionaire philanthropist. However, the legalities of super heroes are far more nuanced than that. This article discusses the use of ‘super heroes’ in light of the fact that the term is covered by a trade mark right jointly held by Marvel and DC. It discusses the protection that Marvel and DC maintain over their mark, the impact of this protection, the challenge to the validity of the registration which was heard in 2016, and the possibility of a declaration of genericide, which would allow the term superhero to be freely used.

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通用超级英雄：他们能存在吗？

乍一看，“超级英雄”这个词似乎是通用的。也就是说，“超级英雄”可能是一个词或术语，用于指代任何与犯罪作斗争的斗篷、蒙面或盛装的十字军，无论是超级大国、非人、半神或天才花花公子亿万富翁慈善家。然而，超级英雄的合法性远不止于此。本文讨论了“超级英雄”的使用，因为该术语由 Marvel 和 DC 共同拥有的商标权所涵盖。它讨论了 Marvel 和 DC 对其商标的保护、这种保护的影响、对 2016 年听到的注册有效性的挑战，以及宣布仿制药的可能性，这将使超级英雄一词成为自由使用。