Holy Trademark! Batman creators DC take on Valencia over logo

The image on the seats at Valencia's Mestalla Stadium

It has been used as the symbol of Valencia since long before the fictional city of Gotham was dreamt up.

But now DC Comics, the makers of superhero Batman, is fighting the La Liga club's right to use its 'new' bat crest.

The New York-based publishing giant lodged its opposition with the European Union's trademark arm.

It claims the logo is too close to two of its own images related to the caped crusader.

Neither Valencia nor DC Comics could be reached for comment on the issue while the Spain-based Office for Harmonization in the Internal Market said it did not comment on individual cases.

The opposition letter sent from DC to trademark bosses

However, documents seen by BBC Sport show that the 11-page opposition document was launched in May 2013.

Batman's first appearance was in 1939, while Valencia have been using a bat on their crest since 1919.

The use of a bat on the city's crest is reported to date back to the 13th century, when a bat was said to have landed on the flag of James I when he re-took Valencia from the Moors.

In 2002, Spice Girls member Victoria Beckham - known as 'Posh Spice' - objected to Peterborough United's attempt to trademark the club nickname 'Posh'.