Recently, Rihanna faced a rather unexpected opponent when she filed to have her name trademarked: DC Comics, the publication responsible for comic book heroes like Superman and Batman.

When the "Umbrella" singer, whose real name is Robyn Rihanna Fenty, asked to trademark her first name so she could use it in starting her own fashion and beauty line, DC stepped forward on May 11 to state that they already have a claim on a closely similar name, none other than Robin, the Dark Knight's sidekick.

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DC Comics trademarked the name "Robin" in 1995 so their character could have his own standalone series and corresponding merchandise. The company argued that Robyn is too close to their trademarked name, and it could confuse consumers and fans into thinking that Rhianna's merchandise is connected to the Boy Wonder.

In trademark law, companies could have similar names, as long as they do not appear within the same industry, thus dispelling the risk of confusion within the consumers. However, Rihanna's plans to eventually launch a magazine using her first name could complicate things, because now both "Robin" and "Robyn" will coexist within the same market demographics.

According to Billboard, DC argued that Rihanna's proposed magazine could potentially be sold to the same types of customers. The article went on to say:

"A digital magazine called Robyn that isn't about the Boy Wonder 'is likely to cause confusion, cause mistake, or to deceive the public' into think it's from DC, the complaint argues."

In the DC universe, Robin is actually one of four characters who bore the name, but all served as Batman's sidekick. The most popular is Dick Grayson, who first appeared in a 1940s issue of DC's Detective Comics. He was created by comic book legends Bob Kane and Bill Finger, as well as Jerry Robinson, who also created the infamous Clown Prince of Crime: the Joker.

TagsRihanna, DC comics, robyn, Robin, Trademark