When logos collide
From the Sometimes You Can’t Catch a Break Dept. DataPortability WorkGroup is a new tech project aiming to allow users to control how their info is distributed through social networks. Released to otherwise positive reviews, the group encountered a major hurdle back in February - a cease and desist letter from Linux developers RedHat regarding the upstart’s logo. RedHat claimed that DataPortability’s infinity design (above left) bore more than a passing likeness to a RedHat trademark (above right), and suggested that the new company stop using it - or else. Typical legal stuff.
Rather than getting into a legal skirmish with the more established RedHat, DataPortability were advised by users and fans to just move on. “Do not spend 0.001% of your mindshare, time, or energy, worrying about a logo! Get a different logo” was one plea. TechCrunch, a popular tech blog, likewise suggested the battle wouldn’t be worth it and that the company simply “have a contest and let fans create a new logo for you”.
And so they did.
Well, that didn’t work out so well either. Selected on April 18, the digital ink wasn’t even dry on the winning contest entry (above left) when DataPortability received yet another cease & desist - this time from entertainment giant Vivendi claiming the second shot at the logo bore an unacceptable likeness to the graphic trademark for their French based file sharing service ZAOZA (above right). And just like the first time DataPortability are moving on to yet another logo attempt. As co-founder Chris Saad is quoted in the TechCrunch piece:
We’re going to speak with our lawyers, tweak it slightly and move on. These C&D tactics are really disappointing and counterproductive. We’d really rather everyone focused on the Technical Best Practice Drafts we released last week.
As much as I might be tempted to launch into another logo contest rant, I don’t think that’s the real issue here. What we can learn from this has more to do with the over-saturation of logos, trademarks and various graphic bits and pieces scattered all over the globe. The corporate landscape is becoming an increasingly cluttered marketplace with everyone and their brother trying to carve out their own brand niche. We can also conclude that the internet’s made it much easier to find supposedly infringing designs, so it’s generally not a good idea to copy anyone (relax - not claiming that happened here). And when it comes to designing a logo, probably worth your while to do a whole bunch of research into who’s already claimed what.
Cause there’s another important lesson here - trademark lawyers have a lot of time on their hands.
