![](https://api.time.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/12/batmobile-01.jpg?quality=85&w=2400)
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.
More Must-Reads from TIME
- Breaking Down the 2024 Election Calendar
- How Nayib Bukele’s ‘Iron Fist’ Has Transformed El Salvador
- What if Ultra-Processed Foods Aren’t as Bad as You Think?
- How Ukraine Beat Russia in the Battle of the Black Sea
- Long COVID Looks Different in Kids
- How Project 2025 Would Jeopardize Americans’ Health
- What a $129 Frying Pan Says About America’s Eating Habits
- The 32 Most Anticipated Books of Fall 2024
Write to Justin Worland at justin.worland@time.com