DC Comics complained against Valencia CF because of the logo

After the legal case discussed in 2014, DC Comics once again denounced Valencia CF due to the social symbol of the Spanish club: the bat. As reported by the newspaper El Confidencial, the American company that exclusively owns the rights of the Batman brand for all commercial activities in Europe has in fact sent a complaint to the EUIPO (the European Union's Intellectual Property Office) claiming the excessive similarity between the logo chosen by the Valencian club on the occasion of the Centenary and the famous images depicting the comics superhero. DC Comics appealed at the Article 8.1 of the EUTMR (European Union Trade Mark Regulation) according to which the similarity could deceive the public. The legal dispute is not close to be finish soon, given that the complaint contains a cooling-off term of 22 months (which will expire on 30 October 2022) within which the two parties will have to find an agreement, but during which the Valencia CF will be able to continue to use the logo with the murcielago.

Valencia's reply arrived quickly: as reported by one of the Spanish club's spokesmen to same newspaper,

"We will not stop using the bat because DC Comics says it, there is no trademark that has a worldwide exclusive on bats. When this club started playing with a bat in the chest, in the United States while hunting for bison."

In effect the history agree with the blanquinegres, founded in 1919 and 20 years before the cartoon character, conceived in 1939 by Bob Kane and Bill Finger. But the link between the bat and the Valencian city (and consequently also with UD Levante) is much more deep, since according to legend the use of the symbol dates back to the 13th century, when James I of Aragon decided to put it after the victory in the battle against the Moors.