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SALT LAKE CITY — Settlement negotiations have been scheduled in the naming lawsuit between Salt Lake Comic Con and San Diego Comic-Con.
An order filed Wednesday by Judge Jan Adler in Southern California's U.S. District Court called the dueling conventions to meet in the judge's chambers on Nov. 23 to discuss a possible resolution.
Details of the potential settlement weren't released Wednesday, but Salt Lake Comic Con co-founder Bryan Brandenburg, who met with representatives from the rival convention in San Diego earlier this week, expressed confidence that a settlement would be "great news for our fans."
"We're confident that the nature of the concessions and details of the settlement will make things better for our fans," he said.
Brandenburg could not confirm Wednesday whether it looks like Salt Lake Comic Con will get to keep the name it has been using for the past two years.
The longstanding San Diego comic and pop culture convention filed a trademark violation lawsuit against Salt Lake's startup event in August 2014 after the Utah convention became an overnight success.
In the lawsuit, the San Diego convention claims legal ownership over the term "comic con" in its various forms, though similar events around the country use it.
San Diego Comic-Con holds the trademark on "comic-con," with a hyphen, but abandoned its 1995 bid for the rights to "comic con," with a space. Salt Lake Comic Con was awarded a trademark for its own name in July, which organizers said elevated their case.
Peter Hahn, an attorney for San Diego Comic-Con, was more reserved about a potential resolution in the case, saying he's waiting on some decisions from Salt Lake Comic Con. In the meantime, San Diego Comic-Con is continuing preparations for a possible trial.
"It's ongoing discussions. The magistrate wants to follow up to see if we've made any progress," Hahn said Wednesday. "I think resolving the litigation is in everyone's favor … but it's going to have to be on terms that are acceptable to San Diego."
Brandenburg said a settlement would require "concessions on both sides." He believes an end to the lawsuit could help repair relations between the two conventions.
"We want to have the ability to put on the best show possible," Brandenburg said. "We're also are confident that one of the outcomes of this is that our relationship with San Diego Comic-Con is going to be greatly improved and that we're going to be able to cooperate moving forward."
Salt Lake Comic Con wrapped up its third convention last month, topping its previous attendance of 120,000 fans, attracting A-list celebrities like "Captain America" star Chris Evans, and setting a world record for gathering costumed fans.
Dates for its next FanX event have been announced for March 24-26, with tickets going on sale Nov. 4 and guest announcements beginning Nov. 24.
"The spirit of comic con and the nature of pop culture and the arts is about promoting creativity rather than spending legal fees and lawsuits," Brandenburg said. "We feel good that we're going to move in the right direction."
