Warner Bros. Inc. v. American Broadcasting Companies, Inc.
American legal case / From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Dear Wikiwand AI, let's keep it short by simply answering these key questions:
Can you list the top facts and stats about Warner Bros. Inc. v. American Broadcasting Companies, Inc.?
Summarize this article for a 10 year old
Warner Bros. Inc. v. American Broadcasting Companies, Inc., 720 F.2d 231 (2d Cir. 1983),[1] the case of Superman v. The Greatest American Hero, is the third case in a Second Circuit trilogy of 20th century copyright infringement cases in which the proprietors of Superman copyrights sued other companies for publishing fictional exploits of a cape-wearing superhero. Although the plaintiffs were successful in the first two cases, Superman v. Wonderman and Superman v. Captain Marvel, they were completely unsuccessful in Superman v. The Greatest American Hero. The court (in an opinion by Circuit Judge Newman) held that "as a matter of law . . . 'The Greatest American Hero' is not sufficiently similar to the fictional character Superman, the hero of comic books, television, and more recently films, so that claims of copyright infringement and unfair competition may be dismissed without consideration by a jury."[2]
Warner Bros. Inc. v. American Broadcasting Companies, Inc. | |
---|---|
Court | United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit |
Full case name | Warner Bros. Inc. v. American Broadcasting Companies, Inc. |
Argued | March 16, 1983 |
Decided | October 6 1983 |
Citation(s) | 720 F.2d 231; 222 U.S.P.Q. 101; 1983 Copr. L. Dec. (CCH) ¶ 25,584 |
Case history | |
Prior history | Preliminary injunction denied by District Court; affirmed on appeal at 654 F.2d 204; 211 U.S.P.Q. 97; 1981 Copr. L. Dec. (CCH) ¶ 25,284; 7 Media L. Rep. 1973 (2d. Cir. 1981) |
Court membership | |
Judge(s) sitting | Walter Roe Mansfield, Thomas Joseph Meskill, Jon O. Newman |
Case opinions | |
Majority | Newman, joined by a unanimous court |