It may not be the biggest, despite what Statista tells you, but the San Diego comic convention was the first to sue for the right to the branding “Comic Con,” and news just emerging is that the Salt Lake Comic Con, has been landed a $4 million bill as part of a legal decision that will have repercussions across the USA.

The term “comic convention” survived the ruling, as too generic to be trademarked, but from here on the only Comic Con in the US will be San Diego.
Too soon yet to say what America’s actual biggest comic convention will do about its branding –

but Salt Lake Comic Con, which was the loser in the legal wrangle, has already been rebranded the FanX Salt Lake Comic Convention.
For the record, San Diego’s 130,000 regular visitor turn out was claimed by Statista to make San Diego the USA’s biggest comic convention.
Statista promotional email July 15:

This Thursday the 38th Comic-Con starts in San Diego. With over 130,000 attendants, the Convention resembles the single biggest gathering of comic enthusiasts in Northern America.

Actually that number has for several years now been beaten by New York. Last year New York broke the 200,000 visitor mark, making it briefly the biggest in the world before the Sao Paulo comic con stole that crown with 220,000 turning out in Brazil in December.

Brazil’s comic con may have been bigger than the USA’s. 275,000 expected as the Jeddah Book Fair gets under way in Saudi Arabia


Given the high legal fees awarded, an appeal on this decision is likely, and New York, of all the many comic cons across the USA, may feel it has the muscle to ignore this ruling and make its own case, but smaller comic cons, like Salt lake, will be rebranding now to avoid paying the price later.
Via The Hollywood Reporter.