You’ve now got free reign to use the term Super Hero, as DC and Marvel have lost their joint trademark over the term.

I think we should just throw the trademark system out. Let’s just get rid of it, because what do you mean DC and Marvel held a joint trademark over the term “Super Hero” for decades, all while using it to prevent smaller companies from using it for their own works? Well, that’s all over now, as the pair of comics giants have lost the trademark, meaning anyone can now use the term in their own comics. As reported by Bleeding Cool, law firm Reichman Jorgensen Lehman & Feldberg (RLJF) announced its victory over the trademark case against Marvel and DC Comics.

Their clients for this particular case were S.J. Richold and Superbabies Limited, who filed the case after DC attempted to block its attempts to promote The Super Babies, a comic about, uh, superpowered superhero babies, if you couldn’t guess already. RLJF’s cancellation petition outlined the history of the superhero trademark, and the ways in which Marvel and DC have used it to prevent smaller comic creators from using the term, in spite of it being an incredibly generic one these days.

Superbabies lead counsel Adam Adler said in a statement, “Securing this result is not just a win for our client but a victory for creativity and innovation. By establishing Super Heroes place in the public domain, we safeguard it as a symbol of heroism available to all storytellers.” Richold also said, “Superhero stories teach us to stick up for the little guy, so it’s only fitting that the liberation of Super Heroes would come at the hands of The Super Babies – the littlest of them all. My hope is that this victory will encourage smaller companies to share their stories with the world.”

Marvel and DC have shared the trademark for over four decades now, but while they might have been the giants of super heroes all those years ago, things are a lot different now. Now all that’s left to do is come up with my own super hero…