Original Batmobile Sold for $4.6 Million at Auction
Judge to Rule Soon on Batmobile Copyright Suit
at Barrett-Jackson, the Scottsdale, AZ, rare and classic auto auction house. There was a reserve price for the car, built and owned by famed car customizer George Barris. The one-of-a-kind 1955 Lincoln Futura concept car was originally created by a design team at Ford Motor Co.’s Lincoln styling department. The 19-foot-long, two-seat, bubble-topped grand touring car prototype was entirely hand-built in 1954 by Ghia Body Works in Turin, Italy, and unveiled in 1955 at the Chicago Auto
A Gotham Garage replica of the “1966 car,” the television Batmobile
The iconic Batmobile from the 1960s television show sold for $4.6 million at the Barrett-Jackson classic car auction held in Arizona the weekend of Jan. 19–20. The midnight-black and fluorescent-red-pinstriped car that Adam West’s Batman used to battle villains in Gotham was up for grabs Jan. 19
Show. In late 1965, 20th Century Fox Television and William Dozier’s Greenway Productions tapped Barris to come up with a car to foil Batman’s enemies. Barris said he bought the 1955 Lincoln Futura concept car from Ford for $1, then transformed the Lincoln in just 15 days for $15,000. The car features bulletproof plexiglass bubble windshields and the Bat Ray (dual 450-watt laser beams that blasted obstacles to bits). It also has a Bat-O-Meter, which identified the location of the bad guys, as well as oil squirters (fashioned from lawn sprinkler heads) to foil evil-doers. “I saw the script and it said, ‘Bang,’ ‘Pow,’ ‘Boom,’” Barris, now 87, said. “That’s exactly what I wanted the car to do. I wanted it to be as big a character as the actors.” Since the television show ended in 1968, the Batmobile has been on display at Barris Kustom Industries in North Hollywood, CA, in a gallery. “It’s difficult to part with,” Barris said. “Whoever the lucky buyer is, I hope they have as much fun with it as I did.” The buyer of the car is Phoenixarea logistics company executive Rick Champagne.
New Insurance Laws Take Effect in 2013 New insurance-related laws will take effect in 2013 in a number of states.
California The California workers’ comp benefit delivery system will undergo changes in 2013 as part of SB 863, the Workers’ Compensation Reform Package, which passed in the 2012 legislative session. SB 863 is intended to reduce system costs as a set-off for increased worker indemnity benefits. SB 863 is designed to contain costs in several ways, while increasing permanent disability (PD) benefits for workers. Two goals of the bill were to change the way in which the system deals with PD, and how medical liens and billing disputes are handled.
Florida The Sunshine State’s HB 119 Motor Vehicle Personal Injury Protection (PIP) Insurance was signed into law by Gov. Rick Scott last May. The bill, which has been described as the most significant auto insurance law in years, seeks to clamp down on alleged abuse and fraud, and improve the state’s no-fault PIP system. The medical benefits provisions of the law took effect on Jan. 1, 2013. They include the requirement that accident victims report an auto-related injury and seek
treatment within 14 days. Policyholders could receive up to $10,000 in benefits for emergency medical care, and $2,500 for less serious injuries.
New Jersey The Garden State planned to implement new rules regarding motor vehicle PIP insurance on Jan. 4, 2013. Proposed changes included adding more procedures to the physicians’ fee schedule to slow rising auto insurance costs. Critics say the new fee schedule limits the types of procedures that could be reimbursed at ambulatory surgery centers (ASCs), and sets hospital outpatient surgical facility fees higher than ASC fees for certain services. The N.J. Association of Ambulatory Surgery Centers is seeking a stay from the court on the implementation of the new rules.
Illinois Beginning in January, SB 0275 will allow state agencies that issue occupational or professional licenses to provide expedited temporary licenses to service members and their spouses who meet certain requirements. This could make it easier for military veterans to enter the insurance profession. Visit InsuranceJournal.com for more information.
46 FEBRUARY 2013 AUTOBODY NEWS | www.autobodynews.com
A copyright case involving DC Comics, custom-car builders and the Batmobile from the 1960s Batman television series could reach a conclusion later this month, the Wall Street Journal’s Driver Seat recently reported. In 2011, DC, a unit of Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc., sued car builder Mark Towle, who runs Gotham Garage, a Santa Ana, CA, shop whose business
includes selling hand-built Batmobile replicas. Both sides filed recently for summary judgment and a hearing with a judge is scheduled for Jan. 30. The judge could find in favor of either party or decide the case has to go to trial. The company said the replicas violate copyrights associated with vehicles Batman has used dating to the character’s early comic-book days. Towle and his Los Angeles lawyer, Larry Zerner, counter that
cars are not subject to copyright protection and the Batmobile from the television show—known to fans as “the 1966 car”—has virtually no design connection with earlier comicbook versions. The television car that people of a certain age recall fondly began life in the mid-1950s as a Lincoln Futura concept vehicle for display in auto shows. Legendary car customizer George Barris built the car and, Zerner said, many car builders including his client have made and sold replicas since then. Indeed, another custom car shop called Fiberglass Freaks could play a part in deciding the case. The Logansport, IN, company has been building Batmobile replicas for about nine years and has done so under a license from DC Comics since 2010. Shop owner Mark Racop said the problem started when Gotham Garage began offering its cars through online auctions. Descriptions of the cars included statements suggesting the Batmobile design isn’t protected under copyright and licensing laws, Racop said. The case happens to be unfolding as the original 1966 Batmobile was recently purchased for $4.6 million at auction. See adjacent story.
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