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SAN DIEGO — A jury ruled Friday that Salt Lake Comic Con violated trademark rules by using the phrase “comic con” and a logo, the Deseret News reported.
The jury of four men and two women reached the verdict just before 4:30 p.m. Friday.
Jurors rule @comic_con owns the mark, and that the defendants, @slcomiccon used it without permission
— McKenzie Romero (@McKenzieRomero) December 8, 2017
In 2014, San Diego Comic-Con International filed suit against organizers of the Salt Lake event, saying that the name had been used without permission.
The defendants argued that “comic con” was a commonplace phrase used by multiple similar events across the country.
Friday, the jury determined that Salt Lake Comic Con’s organizers Dan Farr and Bryan Brandenburg, as individuals, and their company, Dan Farr Productions, used the name without permission.
The use of the San Diego Comic-Con "eye logo," and the phrase “Comic Con International” also were trademark violations, according to the Deseret News.
Jurors also found that San Diego Comic-Con International is entitled to $20,000 in damages, to pay for “corrective advertising.” The group had asked for $12 million in the suit.
Judge Anthony Battaglia presided over the eight-day trial in San Diego.
"This is how we resolve disputes and settle them in a peaceful, amicable way," Battaglia said Friday after reading the jury’s verdict.
