Warner Bros. acquired the rights to the Batman franchise in 1989 and since then has owned the exclusive rights to use the character in movies, TV shows, video games, comics and other media. The licensing rights for Batman are granted by Warner Bros. Consumer Products, a division of Warner Bros. Entertainment.
While Warner Brothers owns every other DC character, including Bruce Wayne, Disney bought the rights to Fox and now owns the rights to live-action Batman in costume on the smaller screen. This means that while an animated series with the character is free game, live-action series are off the table.
In 1989, Warner Brothers (which now owns DC, and thus the rights to Batman) released a feature film, Batman. It smashed box office records and set the grittier tone for all super hero movies that followed, including many produced by Disney.
The Batman is a 2022 American superhero film based on the DC Comics character Batman. Produced by Warner Bros. Pictures, DC Films, 6th & Idaho, and Dylan Clark Productions, and distributed by Warner Bros. Pictures, it is a reboot of the Batman film franchise.
Over the next several years, several prominent DC characters are going to become public domain. Superman becomes public domain in 2034 followed by Batman in 2035 and then Wonder Womanin 2036.
Obviously, you're not allowed to use trademarked characters like Superman or Batman in your published works. If I wrote a novel about Superman fighting Lex Luthor, I could get sued.
It is also possible to buy "The Batman" on Apple TV, Amazon Video, Google Play Movies, YouTube, Vudu, Microsoft Store, DIRECTV, AMC on Demand, Redbox as download or rent it on Amazon Video, Google Play Movies, YouTube, Apple TV, Vudu, Microsoft Store, Redbox, DIRECTV, Spectrum On Demand online.
Today, Wayne Enterprises is led by Lucius Fox, appointed by playboy billionaire heir Bruce Wayne, whose estate owns a majority stake through various trusts and charities.
To sum it all, DC is the flagship unit of DC Ent., a subsidiary of Warner Brothers, and a subsidiary of AT&T. Although Disney does not own DC per se, this didn't stop Disney Channel from creating their versions of Superman and Batman.
If Disney bought DC, Disney would own literally everything. There would be extreme crossovers in the movies. Disney would have much more leverage over movie theaters, since Disney still supports the old-fashioned way of viewing movies: the theater.
DC Comics and its parent company, DC Entertainment, are wholly owned subsidiaries of WarnerMedia, one of the largest media and entertainment conglomerates in the world.
These are the some of the major brands and franchises Disney owns: Star Wars, The Muppets, the Marvel Cinematic Universe, Disney Princesses, Pirates of the Caribbean, Pixar films, Winnie the Pooh, and Indiana Jones.
Wayne Enterprises is a large, growing multinational company. Wayne Enterprises, Inc. The American diversified multinational conglomerate is owned and chaired by Bruce Wayne, the son of Thomas and Martha Wayne. Wayne Enterprises is a green company based out of Gotham City and headquartered in Wayne Tower.
A trivia published in BuzzFeed states, “Batman's stated IQ is an unbelievable 192, several notches above the famed theoretical physicist (Albert Einstein), who was estimated to have an IQ between 160 and 180.
Depending on the adaptation/iteration, Wayne is generally the owner and chairperson of Wayne Enterprises, the global conglomerate left to him after the death of his parents.
The Batman franchise, based on the fictional superhero Batman who appears in American comic books published by DC Comics, has seen the release of various films.
Marvel Studios just confirmed the Caped Crusader himself, Batman, exists within the MCU once again. Marvel is no stranger to including references to DC in Phase 4.
Long story short: It is illegal but acceptable. Marvel and DC own the rights to all their creations, and they are empowered to protect those rights if you infringe on them.
For one thing, the character can only be used as it existed 95 years earlier. Let's take Superman, for example, who first appeared in DC's Action Comics #1 in 1938 and enters the public domain in 2033.
The Batman logo is protected by both copyright and trademark. Using the Batman logo on your products without a license will subject you to civil and criminal liability - i.e. you can be sued and sent to prison.
If you're going to write about a superhero, however, you will have to be sure you don't violate any trademark rights. The term “superhero” is owned in a joint registration by DC Comics and Marvel Comics.
