The battle started between DC and Mark Towle, when the master fabricator created replicas of the retro Batmobile from the 1960s series and the 1989 film directed by Tim Burton.
The Supreme Court ruled in favor of a previous ruling by the California Appeals Court that the distinctive form of the Batman's main vehicle is protected by copyright which was infringed upon when Towle created and sold his own versions for up to $90,000 each.
Towle, originally from Temecula, California, creates replicas of the Batmobile and other well-fabricated vehicles. He also details cars from his shop, named Gotham Garage. DC sued him in 2011 when he first began selling his Batmobiles.
He argued in his defense that the Batmobile was utilitarian and functional and not artistic, therefore not entitled to copyright protection status.
However, as Sandra Ikuta wrote in her opinion for the ninth Circuit in September 2015, the Batmobile's appearance whether it is on film or TV or in the comics is distinctive enough to be recognizable despite its various looks over the years.
According to Ikuta - whose original opinion shows off a depth of knowledge about the Batmobile which any Batman fan would be proud of - Towle's argument that the Batmobile was not always aerodynamic or all-black, or have exaggerated fenders and other gadgets which allow him to create his own versions, is irrelevant.
"In addition to its status as 'a highly-interactive vehicle, equipped with high-tech gadgets and weaponry used to aid Batman in fighting crime,' the Batmobile is almost always bat-like in appearance, with a bat-themed front end, bat wings extending from the top or back of the car, exaggerated fenders, a curved windshield, and bat emblems on the vehicle," she wrote.
"This bat-like appearance has been a consistent theme throughout the comic books, television series, and motion picture, even though the precise nature of the bat-like characteristics have changed from time to time," she added.
Although Towle attempted to appeal this decision, even the High Court agreed with the previous ruling and sided with DC Comics in protecting their copyright and halting Towle from creating and selling any more of his Batmobile replicas.
In November, George Barris, the original creator of the 1966 Batmobile driven by Adam West in the series, passed away.
