Comic con court battle

A court battle between two rival pop-culture conventions in California and Utah is marching on with a judge’s refusal to toss out the case over rights to the phrase “comic con.”

U.S. District Judge Anthony Battaglia made a split decision Tuesday in the case that started when the well-known San Diego Comic-Con sued upstart rivals in Salt Lake City for trademark violation.

The judge says evidence that more than 100 similar events around the country use some version of the phrase gives weight to Utah’s argument that it’s a general term. But he also pointed to a survey filed by San Diego that found 80 percent of people think “comic con” is a brand name.

The ruling means the three-year-old case will keep proceeding toward trial after settlement talks broke down this summer.