Christopher Nolan Getting Sued

[FlawlessVictory]

Real life Batman faces super test http://www.hurriyet.com.tr/p/english2008/spacer.gif

ISTANBUL - The mayor of Batman, a city recently under scrutiny due to unsolved murders and increasing rates of female suicides, will sue the director of the movie "Batman" movie.

Not a superhero with supernatural abilities, or a person wealthy enough to buy high-tech toys to fight evil, but a simple human being named Hüseyin Kalkan, the pro-Kurdish Democratic Society Party mayor of the southeastern city of Batman, declared war against his city’s namesake superhero, Batman.

“The royalty of the name ‘Batman’ belongs to us … There is only one Batman in the world. The American producers used the name of our city without informing us,” Kalkan told to the Doğan news agency. Batman is a centuries old city, taking root in the Neolithic age but becoming significant when oil was found in the region at the end of 1940s. Almost a decade before that, Batman was created as a comic hero. Kalkan is going to sue Christopher Nolan, the director of the latest Batman movie “The Dark Night,” not DC Comics, the creator of the superhero.

Mayor Kalkan, speaking to the Hürriyet Daily News and the Economic Review, said last year foreign media picked up on Batman and the city’s increasing suicide rates among women. He said a columnist asked why Batman’s mayor did not sue the movie Batman for royalties while struggling with economic problems. “We found this criticism right and started to look for legal possibilities of a case like that,” he said.

Meanwhile, local newspaper Batman Çağdaş alleged yesterday that Batman residents living abroad cannot use Batman as a title for their business, leading the municipality to think about the royalty rights of that name.
However, mayor Kalkan rejected any allegations about the issue and said they do not have any information that Batman residents living abroad have problems about using Batman as a name.

But Batman Çağdaş newspaper reported that Şafii Dağ, a former Batman resident, currently living in the Germany city of Wesel, is one of those citizens who cannot use Batman as a title for his business, according to the newspaper. “I named my two restaurants Batman. But six months ago, a team of employees from the production company of the movie Batman made me change the title. Telling them that Batman was the name of my hometown did not change anything,” Dağ said.

Meanwhile, the name of a local region cannot be registered as a brand name, said lawyer Vehbi Kahveci, head of the Intellectual and Industrial Property Rights Commission of the Istanbul (http://www.hurriyet.com.tr/index/istanbul/) Bar. Also having overseas clients, Kahveci said “Batman” and his image is registered all around the world. The Batman Municipality missed the period in which they could object to the registration decision for Batman’s name as a superhero, according to Kahveci.

http://www.hurriyet.com.tr/english/domestic/10301376.asp?gid=244

[Anubis]

Heh.

[gwynplaine]

I think I am going to move to Batman, or maybe Joker a nice little town in kurdistan.:woot:

[Drz]

Its funny, hes not sueing Tim Burton for making "Batman" movie instead he chooses the director who made the only Batman movie not having the name Batman on the title. :P

[CFE]

Its funny, hes not sueing Tim Burton for making "Batman" movie instead he chooses the director who made the only Batman movie not having the name Batman on the title. :P

"Batman Begins" :o

[batman11]

Is this for real? Is this guy actually serious? LOL :woot:

It's a funny world we live in.

[hatebox]

"Batman Begins" :o

Yes, but his point still stands and makes grammatical sense.

[TDK Joker]

So did I read it wrong or is that dumb mayor sueing Christopher Nolan because women who live in a place called "Batman" are commiting suicide?
That is the dumbest thing I have read in a long time

[Anita18]

So did I read it wrong or is that dumb mayor sueing Christopher Nolan because women who live in a place called "Batman" are commiting suicide?
That is the dumbest thing I have read in a long time
No, I think they mentioned it on top of the negative attention they've received. Or...something. It's not really clear, but they don't necessarily connect the two things.

I'm :lmao: that they're suing Nolan now, when the movie's title doesn't have "Batman" in it. :oldrazz: Just jumping on the bandwagon like the rest of us, eh?

I'm sure Nolan can afford the best lawyers money can buy, at any rate.

[Congo Jack]

hatebox's signature from a couple of posts up basically describes this scenario.

[The_Joker7895]

They can't possibly be serious.

So why didn't they sue... oh, I don't know, Bob Kane when he created the character? Ugh, I am so sick of everyone trying to steal Batman and everything else form WB, Legendary, DC Comics, etc. just because they saw that TDK made nearly $1 billion worldwide and over $525 million domestically.

Between Fox trying to sue WB out of Watchmen, and a city of Istanbul trying to sue Nolan for the rights to the name Batman, its like everyone pretty much has a severe case of envy. :o

[Bathead]

There's already a thread on this.

[Anubis]

Why are they even suing Nolan? He doesn't own Batman.

[Jokers_Wild]

Too many idiots in this world with $$ signs in their eyes...

[Saint]

Nevermind that this will never bear fruit, but they're not even suing the right person.

[deathshead2]

Wonder if Batcave North Carolina can get in on this action?

[Symbiotic]

This has gotta be the stupidest thing I've ever read. This mayor = dips**t. (I hope I can say that if it's edited.)

[Mr. Earle]

Yeah, the mayor is either trolling, trying to advertise his town, or just being plain stupid.
Either way, good luck with that! You ll need it! :hehe:They can't possibly be serious.

So why didn't they sue... oh, I don't know, Bob Kane when he created the character?Why are they even suing Nolan? He doesn't own Batman.That's what makes it even worse! and a city of Istanbul Not trying to act smart, but Istanbul is the city. Turkey is the country.
Mayor Kalkan, speaking to the Hürriyet Daily News and the Economic Review, said last year foreign media picked up on Batman and the city’s increasing suicide rates among womenHave they thought that maybe women commit suicide for reasons other than Nolan's movie? "OMG that movie was so bad, it was a disgrace to our city! There is a woman in there who has human rights, doesnt wear a chador and FLIRTS WITH TWO MEN!!! I am going to kill myself! "

[Octoberist]

haha. When was Batman (the town) got its name?

[Mr. Earle]

haha. When was Batman (the town) got its name?When the city watched its parents murdered in front of its very eyes. Then it decided to haunt the night as......Batman! It would be cool if everybody there walked around in batsuits and batmobiles!

[Franklin Richards]

Well I agree that people who want to open a restaurant with a Batman cuisine should be able to use the name.



:thing: :doom: :thing:

[Anubis]

Just put some of those funny dots over the second "a" or something.

[Beanjuice]

There is a place....on this earth....callled Batman.......all i have to say is....wow

[FlawlessVictory]

When the city watched its parents murdered in front of its very eyes. Then it decided to haunt the night as......Batman! It would be cool if everybody there walked around in batsuits and batmobiles!

:funny:

[Doctor Jones]

Right now, Nolan is sitting back saying, "I don't need to worry about this. If they come after me, Aaron will be my lawyer, and Gary will be the cop trying to find out what the hell's going on, and Christian will be the Goddamn Batman to intimidate and scare the mayor."

[Paradyme]

Wow. The world is upside down now-a-days. Common sense has flown out the window.

[Mr. Earle]

Right now, Nolan is sitting back saying, "I don't need to worry about this. If they come after me, Aaron will be my lawyer, and Gary will be the cop trying to find out what the hell's going on, and Christian will be the Goddamn Batman to intimidate and scare the mayor."http://img83.imageshack.us/my.php?image=1202427364345vl6.gifhttp://img83.imageshack.us/my.php?image=1202427364345vl6.gifhttp://img83.imageshack.us/my.php?image=1202427364345vl6.gifhttp://img83.imageshack.us/my.php?image=1202427364345vl6.gif
http://img83.imageshack.us/my.php?image=1202427364345vl6.gif

[kyuubijavi1]

lol that guy will end up loosing his home town too dc if he tried that **** xD

[Anjow1060]

Seeing as the town and a fictional person are two different things, they have no law suit.

If Nolan tried to make his own town called "Batman". They could TRY.

But it's no different than if I made a movie with a character named Jordan. Or Nigeria.

I never thought i'd say this but;

HOLY EPIC FAIL BATMAN.

- Jow

[Doctor Jones]

http://img83.imageshack.us/my.php?image=1202427364345vl6.gifhttp://img83.imageshack.us/my.php?image=1202427364345vl6.gifhttp://img83.imageshack.us/my.php?image=1202427364345vl6.gifhttp://img83.imageshack.us/my.php?image=1202427364345vl6.gif
http://img83.imageshack.us/my.php?image=1202427364345vl6.gif

Hehehe. That picture was exactly what I was thinking of while typing it. :woot:

But the first five pics at the top have red x's in them. What were they?

[Commodore Schmidlapp]

*face palm*

[bgates87]

Old news, this thread should be merged into the one in the Bat-World forums (http://forums.superherohype.com/showthread.php?t=314340) from like 4 days ago.

[jmc]

I think this town has got the right idea, so as a result, I'm going to be suing Baz Lurman for using Australia, I want my royalties damn it! :woot:

[Mr. Earle]

Hehehe. That picture was exactly what I was thinking of while typing it. :woot:

But the first five pics at the top have red x's in them. What were they?I was trying to post the pic in the post and not as an attachment. For some reason it didnt work. I went to imageshack and uploaded the pic and then i went to "insert image" and posted the link. Didnt work.

[I Am The Knight]

There is a thread about this already. And I agree with Franklin Richards.

[Bim]

When the city watched its parents murdered in front of its very eyes. Then it decided to haunt the night as......Batman! It would be cool if everybody there walked around in batsuits and batmobiles!
Ok i had to laugh at this :hehe:

This lawsuit is just ridiculous and stupid :whatever:

[Spade]

I love how not only is he suing the wrong person, but he's also doing this while his city is in need of his attention. If I were a citizen in Batman right now, I'd be thinking up of ways to string him up from the rafters.

...In light of these dire times for Batman, I nominate myself as mayor for their consideration. :brucebat:

[JokerLedger]

Christopher Nolan is laughing his ass off as we speak.

[Asteroid-Man]

AHAHAHAHAA the funniest part of all this is that Batman, Turkey was founded in 1955 whereas the Batman character (DC) was created in 1939!!! So if anything, the city of Batman might actually be forced to pay DC/WB and CN if they decide to counter sue.

[Spider-Vader]

Wow, like 60 years of Batman & the town now notices. Yeah, right. :whatever:

[Asteroid-Man]

Funny how the town was made 16 years AFTER the comic...

[gwynplaine]

I wonder what are the batman inhabitants called, the Batmanians, the batmen ?

[BlueLightning]

Hehehe. Batmanians. I was thinking this word today in School. Seriously, this is ridiculous. That mayor has from little to no common sense. Or is very desperate, or both.

[spideyman101]

First of all, it was wrong for those people to ask a local to change his restaurant name... unless it was something obvious, like "Joker's Cafe in Batman" or... you know: "Batman: The Batcave". :oldrazz:

But still, sueing Chris? Come on...

My guess is, seeing as how this hasn't been a problem back since when Batman (comics) first came about up until now tells me that it's just a new generation of nitwits taking over the system. :whatever:

[I Am The Knight]

I think I read in one of these articles that it was a lawyer's idea to sue for the Batman name. Figures.

[Borat]

Nevermind that this will never bear fruit, but they're not even suing the right person.Nice avatar. Whos the artist?

And yea, this will never happen. Chris Nolan didn't create Batman. And even then, there's no case.

[BlueLightning]

I think I read in one of these articles that it was a lawyer's idea to sue for the Batman name. Figures.
Yeah. I read it from the wiki.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Batman,_Turkey

On November 7th, 2008, Batman Mayor Hüseyin Kalkan began looking into legal possibilities toward suing Chris Nolan, director of Batman Begins and the Dark Knight for naming infringement. Mr. Kalkan is quoted as receiving the idea from foreign columnists who asked why he did not sue for money while his town struggled with economic trouble.[/URL]

[URL]http://www.hurriyet.com.tr/english/domestic/10301376.asp?gid=244 (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Batman,_Turkey#cite_note-3)

[LostSon88]

You're not gonna believe this though...

He sued them back in 2007 also and believe it or not...DC actually gave this guy a cash settlement! :cmad:

http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2007/aug/23/turkey.gender

Absent from the campaign in Batman has been the mayor, Huseyin Kalkan, who was awarded damages by DC Comics after a lawsuit over the use of his town's name for the superhero Batman. That money, activists point out, could be used to save women like Nuran Uca.

...now he's trying to do it again? That just grinds my gears...

PLEASE DON'T GIVE THIS GUY ANY MORE MONEY...PLEASE DC!!!

[Boom]

Wow.

[hatebox]

Surely they'd at least so WB and/or DC rather than Nolan himself...

... or is that just what news stories are saying so it makes a better headline?

[Finlandman]

:lmao: :lmao: :lmao: :lmao: :lmao: :lmao: :lmao:

Worst thing in this is that my uncle is getting married with turkish woman.

[Two-Face]

You're not gonna believe this though...

He sued them back in 2007 also and believe it or not...DC actually gave this guy a cash settlement! :cmad:

http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2007/aug/23/turkey.gender

Absent from the campaign in Batman has been the mayor, Huseyin Kalkan, who was awarded damages by DC Comics after a lawsuit over the use of his town's name for the superhero Batman. That money, activists point out, could be used to save women like Nuran Uca.

...now he's trying to do it again? That just grinds my gears...

PLEASE DON'T GIVE THIS GUY ANY MORE MONEY...PLEASE DC!!!

Shame really.

[Bat-Mite]

Surely they'd at least so WB and/or DC rather than Nolan himself...

... or is that just what news stories are saying so it makes a better headline?As far as I know, they are suing both WB and Nolan.

I really hope Nolan doesn't give these people any money. DC was very generous in doing so and look what came of it... he comes running back for more. Let's hope they don't fall for the same trick twice. :down:

[GregComicFan]

Does anybody on this board have any legal knowledge?

Because I don't understand how this Turkey Mayor has a case.

Which came first? The town of Batman or Batman the DC character?

Does the Mayor have any proof that Batman the character is defaming the city of Batman or has any connection or correlation with the city or its inhabitants? How can a movie being blamed for murder? If that is the case, then we can blame EVERY violent death in the USA on Grand Theft Auto IV.

[Paradyme]

Funny how the town was made 16 years AFTER the comic...

Interesting little conundrum they have there.

[LostSon88]

Batman was created in 1939.

Batman, Turkey was declared in 1955.

I don't see how they have a case but DC did settle with them in 2007.

:huh:

[Lemenbolle]

Batman was created in 1939.

Batman, Turkey was declared in 1955.

I don't see how they have a case but DC did settle with them in 2007.

:huh:
LOL, not, Batmán is an old town/city/village, like, som thousands of years old.

Anyways, this = he he he he. is just a publicity stunt.

[Mikelus]

The dates are irrelevant, Batman's name comes from the characteristics of the character, not the Turkish town. The fact both have the same name is just a coincidence, not intentional.

[metalhead_dave]

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3089/2629732800_9feb796876.jpg

Dent: We need Kalkan back.

Gordon: But the Turks won't extradite a Mayor under any circumstances.

Batman: If I get him to you, can you get him to drop this ridiculous lawsuit?

Dent: I can get him to drop to his knees and beg.

Gordon: We're going after the town's potential life savings... this could get ugly.

[FlawlessVictory]

^:lmao:

[Timstuff]

After subjugating Greece and committing genocide on the Armenians, can't Turkey at least leave Batman alone? :(

If they actually win this asinine lawsuit, next the nation of Turkey is going to be suing the world's collective English-speaking poultry industry. :cmad:

[Timstuff]

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3089/2629732800_9feb796876.jpg

Dent: We need Kalkan back.

Gordon: But the Turks won't extradite a Mayor under any circumstances.

Batman: If I get him to you, can you get him to drop this ridiculous lawsuit?

Dent: I can get him to drop to his knees and beg.

Gordon: We're going after the town's potential life savings... this could get ugly.

lolololololololololololololololololololololololool :D

[Punchinello]

Hehehe. Batmanians. I was thinking this word today in School. Seriously, this is ridiculous. That mayor has from little to no common sense. Or is very desperate, or both.

Ditto!

[Etienne]

The adult swim bumps just mentioned this.

[gazzilla8000]

There is a place....on this earth....callled Batman.......all i have to say is....wow

There is a street near my house called Lois Lane.