解开漫威IP的蜘蛛网……

作为一个狂热动漫迷，我饶有兴致观看了巴黎迪士尼乐园将推出的复仇者联盟校园的近期宣传活动。

As an avid comics fan, I have watched the recent promotion of the upcoming launch of Avengers Campus at Disneyland Paris with interest.

不过，身为IP律师的我不由思考为什么佛罗里达州迪士尼世界没有复仇者联盟乐园或漫威乐园。其中的缘由凸显出了动漫和动画行业中商业运作中的一些关键的知识产权问题，在这些行业，通过许可授权将作品名称、角色IP进行货币化是一个潜在的带来丰厚利润的收入来源。

However, the IP attorney in me led me to contemplate why there is no Avengers Land or Marvel Land at Disney World Florida. The reason highlights some key IP issues for businesses operating in the comics and animation sectors, where the monetization of title and character IP via licensing is a potentially lucrative revenue stream.

许可协议是IP所有者和第三方之间签订的，目的是允许第三方使用IP所有者的知识产权，例如“SPIDER-MAN（蜘蛛侠）”、“MARVEL（漫威）”和“HULK（绿巨人浩克）”等商标或者这些角色的形象等版权作品，以换取收入。

Licence agreements are entered into between IP owners and third parties in order to allow third parties to use the IP owner’s IP, such as trade marks like SPIDER-MAN, MARVEL and HULK or copyright works such as images of those characters, in return for a fee.

奥兰多环球影城的运营主体于1994年与漫威签订了这样的一份许可协议，该协议允许奥兰多环球影城在其主题公园里使用漫威IP，由此导致了现在奥兰多环球影城的漫威超级英雄岛的诞生。该协议是在2009年迪士尼收购漫威之前签署的，其中包含了不得授权佛罗里达州迪士尼世界使用漫威IP的条款。因此，在佛罗里达州的主题公园使用漫威IP的权利并未在迪士尼收购漫威时转让给迪士尼。

The entity responsible for Universal Orlando entered into such an agreement with Marvel in 1994 allowing it to use Marvel’s IP at their theme park, leading to the creation of what is now known as Marvel Super Hero Island at Universal Orlando. This contract was executed before the acquisition of Marvel by Disney in 2009, and includes terms that prevent the use of Marvel IP at Disney World Florida. As a result, the right to use Marvel IP at theme parks in Florida was not transferred to Disney when it acquired Marvel.

用一个实例来说明这对迪士尼的影响，那些最近到访过佛罗里达州迪士尼世界的读者可能已经去过超级英雄总部商店购买官方漫威商品。然而，佛罗里达州的迪士尼世界无法将这家商店称为“漫威总部”，因为他们被阻止不得使用漫威商标，原因是奥兰多环球影城已经拥有在该地区使用与主题公园相关的漫威商标的排他权利。

Using a practical example of the implications of this for Disney, those readers that have visited Disney World Florida recently may have visited the Super Hero Headquarters store to purchase official Marvel merchandise. However, Disney World Florida is unable to call the store “Marvel Headquarters” because they are prevented from using the Marvel trade mark due to the exclusive right that Universal Orlando has to the use of that term in relation to theme parks in the region.

许可协议（例如有关在主题公园使用漫威IP的协议）的复杂性意味着，在很多情况下基于许可协议所授予的权利具有地域性。上文提及的许可协议的范围并未延伸涵盖到欧洲环球主题公园对漫威IP的使用，这就是为什么迪士尼依然能够在其位于巴黎的复仇者联盟校园中使用漫威IP的全部内容。

The complex nature of licence agreements such as that relating to the use of Marvel IP at theme parks means that in many circumstances the rights granted under a licence are territorial. That contract does not extend to use of Marvel IP at Universal theme parks in Europe and that is why Disney is able to use the full range of Marvel IP in its Avengers Campus offering in Paris.

以下这些问题对动漫和动画领域的IP所有者十分重要，因为权利人必须注意到允许第三方使用其IP将带来的影响。

These issues are important to IP owners in the comics and animation sectors because it is important for rights holders to be mindful of the implications of allowing a third party to use their IP.

It is important to discuss these issues with an IP Professional if you are considering licensing your IP.

如果您当前正在创作动漫或动画IP，那么您也得明白，若之后希望将该 IP许可或出售给第三方，拥有注册IP将加强您的谈判地位。因此，尽早有策略地将作品名称、角色名称、图标或角色形象注册成商标和设计，是有实际价值的。

If you are currently creating comics or animation IP it is also important to understand that owning registered IP will strengthen your position if you are later seeking to license or sell that IP to third parties. There is real value in early engagement with strategic registration of, amongst other things, titles, character names, logos, or the visual appearance of characters as trade marks and designs.

例如, “SPIDER-MAN”(蜘蛛侠)是Marvel Characters, Inc（迪士尼子公司）已在英国众多商品上注册的诸多商标的主题词。不过，值得注意的是，Cadence Industries（最初的漫威母公司）早在1979年就已经将“SPIDER-MAN”注册为服装上的商标，因为该公司显然已经清楚且敏锐地意识到从商品销售的角度注册该品牌的价值，并且通过注册来加强地位以阻止第三方在同类商品上使用“SPIDER-MAN”一词。

By way of example, SPIDER-MAN is the subject of various registered trade marks in the UK owned by Marvel Characters, Inc (a Disney subsidiary) in relation to a myriad of merchandising goods. However, it is important to note that Cadence Industries (the original Marvel parent company) registered SPIDER-MAN as a trade mark for clothing goods in 1979 as it was clearly acutely aware of the value of registering the brand for the goods of interest from a merchandising perspective, and in order to strengthen its position to prevent third parties from using the term SPIDER-MAN for such goods.

如果您正在创作动漫、动画作品，意识到了作品名称、图标、角色名称或形象的价值，那么您应该尽早与 IP 专业人士接洽，以规避常见的陷阱，采取得当的策略来保护您的 IP。需要考虑的一些关键问题是：

If you are creating comics and animated works and you see value in the titles, logos, character names, or character appearances then you should engage with an IP professional as early as possible in order avoid common pitfalls and to strategically protect your IP. Some key issues to consider are:

在早期阶段就与IP专业人员接洽，尽早了解您所创作的作品在使用和保护各方面的问题，有助于您评估您计划的使用所面临的风险，而一旦保护到位，它将增加您的IP的价值，让您在作品获得成功之后无论是许可还是出售IP时都能处于更有利地位。

Engaging with IP professionals at an early stage in relation to the use and protection of the various facets of the work that you have created will help you to assess the risks posed by your proposed use, and once protection is put in place it will increase the value of your IP and put you in a stronger position to license or sell your IP if your work is successful.