Lawsuits for copyrights from large companies, either for the name of their projects or for the appropriation of one of their characters, are quite common, since most have them legally registered to avoid any theft or expropriation from someone else. .
This time it was the turn of a Chilean entrepreneur, who after calling his bakery “Superpan”, was sued by the US publisher DC Comics, accusing him of infringing copyright by using the logo and colors of his beloved superhero Superman.
Gonzalo Montenegro, the owner of the bakery that has been a family business and has carried the same name for approximately 20 years, never imagined that he would face a legal battle to defend the name of his modest business against one of the American comic book publishers. Most important in the world.
As he confessed in interviews with local media, Superman has always been his favorite superhero, which is why he decided to make it the theme of his bakery. Although at first, the name of the pastry shop was Amasanderia Superpan, after becoming popular for wearing t-shirts with the character’s logo, she decided to change the name only to Superpan.
Our place is social, the bread that is left over we give away. DC believed that he was suing a corporation, a brand, but they found me, a humble guy who was going to be stripped of everything because of the nickname he adopted, out of admiration for Superman as a child.
– Gonzalo Montenegro
Regardless of the fact that it was a small company, in its eagerness to defend its brand, three years ago, DC Comics made the decision to confront the small family business in court, alleging that they promote their premises with posters and the famous character’s logo as well. Known as the “Man of Steel”.
Given the lawsuit that the Chilean faced against the comic book publisher, it was recently revealed that after three long years of litigation alleging that the bread business was confused with the superhero and harmed his image, finally the legal battle ruled in favor of Gonzalo.
In the end, the National Institute of Industrial Property (INAPI) of Chile declared that the Superpan bakery does not infringe any intellectual property, therefore, it is free to be used by Gonzalo’s business.