There Can Be Only One

In 2017, a Federal District Court jury decided in favor of the San Diego Comic Con (SDCC) in its trademark suit against the Salt Lake Comic Con over the rights to the name “Comic Con.” The Salt Lake Comic Con (now called FanX) argued that the name “Comic Con” was generic and that the SDCC was lax in protecting its trademark as evidenced by the numerous other conventions using the name. While this decision is about as likely to get people to stop calling their local con “Comic Con” as they are to stop calling Puffs Plus “Kleenex,” it does mean that the promoters of these events will need to either pony up the dough to license the name from CCI (the parent company behind SDCC) or rebrand their own conventions.

Just four hours before the writing of this article, however, FanX was tweeting about amicus briefs filed in support of their claim that “Comic Con” is a generic abbreviation of “Comic Convention,” so it would appear the fight continues despite the rulings.

The Con That May Not Be Named

One of the more disturbing findings in this case is that FanX may not even use the “Comic Con” name to indicate they are the convention formerly known as the Salt Lake Comic Con, destroying years of name recognition and goodwill. Will fans see advertisements for FanX and realize it’s the same con they’ve attended in the past, or will they dismiss it as some upstart trying to squeeze out their con? What about all the other conventions across the country who have been forced to bail on the “Comic Con” moniker? Will my beloved Denver Comic Con (DCC, hereafter referred to as Denver Pop Culture Con, DPCC, or The Denver Convention That May Not Be Named (TDCTMNBN) suffer?

Based on my extensive research that consisted of firing up an incognito browser window and googling “Denver Comic Con,” I’m unconcerned. The court may have ruled that organizations can’t use “Comic Con” to advertise their conventions, but apparently Google and those in charge of DPCC SEO didn’t get the memo. Every search of every iteration of Denver Comic Con that I could think of pointed right back to the DPCC website.

Truth be told, I prefer the new name. While one word longer than TDCTMNBN, Denver Pop Culture Con is actually a lot shorter than “Denver Comic Con. No, Seriously, You Should Check It Out. It’s Not Just A Bunch Of Sweaty Nerds Thumbing Through Old Conan The Barbarian Comics With Cheetos-Coated Fingers. Jeez, Just Go To The Website — Stranger Things, The Walking Dead, Buffy, Harry Potter — I Know You Like All Those Things.” The term pop culture is much more descriptive of a convention that showcases movies, TV, music, video games, literature, art, cosplay, crafts, DIY, robotics, board games, and, yes, comic books.

Denver Pop Culture Con is a 3-day, family-friendly pop culture fan extravaganza, featuring the best in pop culture entertainment. Denver Pop Culture Con is a program of the Colorado nonprofit Pop Culture Classroom, whose mission is to inspire a love of learning, to increase literacy, celebrate diversity and build community through pop culture education. The proceeds from this annual event benefit Pop Culture Classroom’s overall educational endeavors.