DC Comics has a right to a copyright on the Batmobile vehicle portrayed in the Batman cartoon and movie franchise, an appeals court said Wednesday.
The Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals ruled that the car qualifies as a “automotive character” that can be protected under copyright law, according to the Hollywood Reporter. The ruling comes in response to a challenge by DC Comics of a California mechanic who manufactured Batmobile replicas and sold them for $90,000.
“As Batman so sagely told Robin, ‘In our well-ordered society, protection of private property is essential,'” judge Sandra Ikuta wrote in the court’s opinion.
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Write to Justin Worland at justin.worland@time.com