How is it that DC and Marvel can both have Oracles?

Are there rules about which names can be restricted and which can't? And does it matter if they're title characters or just within the story?

Captain Marvel. Why not Oracles?

Captain Marvel was a legal argument, wasn't it? But Oracle just seems to have gotten a pass. Why?

White Rabbit.

They've both got Changelings and Sandmen as well. The Marvel family is something of an exception because, you know, Marvel.

DC has at least 3 White Rabbits, Marvel only one. DC wins!

Some others that I can think of that are or have been used by multiple companies...

Black Beetle

Magneto

Typhoon

Bette Noir

Wizard

Midnight

The Spider

Quicksilver

Probably hundreds of others.

Because this
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oracle

it's like trying to trademark "Hercules" or "Thor".

They can trademark THEIR TAKE (ie Marvel couldn't have Oracle be a wheelchair bound redhead computer whiz) but they cant trademark the name Oracle as is.

Likewise, could they trademark Rhino? Or just trademark a big man in a suit with a rhino horn?

Sorry to ruin the fun of naming them, but here's a HUGE list

http://goodcomics.comicbookresources...sed-5th-draft/

Most of them are lame copouts (Like code names or old Charlton comics characters), but it's still amazing how many there are.

The trademark probably just covers "Rhino as a big man in a suit with a rhino horn" and everything related to the Spider-man villain.

So if DC came up with a character who was say a completely human gangster who's schtick was to punch people with a rhino horn and was Jimmy "The Rhino" who gets called "The Rhino", then they'd probably be fine because Marvel doesn't own the trademark on an animal name. As long as they aren't trying to rip off Marvel's Rhino.

There are also a couple lame entries like Batman/Bat-man when the Marvel version is from What The-? which is a parody comic and covered under the same laws as Mad Magazine.

Both companies have an Enchantress and there doesn't seem to be a backlash.

Changing Captain Marvel's name to Shazam is just more chickenspit B.S. from Dan Didiot in my opinion.

So they can't use his "CM name" on a cover, that usage invokes their greatest competitor -and that just Dan D; sorry no that's a viable and well-reasoned marketing/ legal decision.