After numerous logo designs by Jeff Fisher LogoMotives were 'appropriated,' and offered for sale, by the site LogoGarden.com, I began to make use of Google reverse image search to research possible misuse of other identities created for business, organization and event clients. The following have been my findings:
11.11 - It's ironic that UGI Printing & Packaging in China/UK butchers the Jeff Fisher LogoMotives identity and uses it in a online client lesson on trademarks. Removal request/DMCA sent to site on 11.14.11. Received email that image will be removed from all three URLs found. Images removed as of 11.18.11.
02.12 - Identity for Russian company American Original certainly isn't. Instead, it's a blatant rip-off of my original 1997 logo for American Telecom.
11.11 - India firm Dreamsdesign ["Creativity in Abundance"] seems to abundantly rip-off the logo work of other designers, such as my original Stumptown Clowns identity. DMCA/removal request sent on 11.12.11. Received email on 11.13.11 from site owner saying he was unaware the logo was my design and it has been removed. Proclaimed ignorance as an excuse never works for me. How does someone not know ripped-off logo designs are in their own online portfolio?
02.12 - The Facebook page for Mediamaks, a London design firm, contained an entire page of logo designs appropriated from other designers - including my C.A.T. image. I filed a DMCA with FB and posted a message on the wall of the company's page. Within minutes I got the response that the designs were submitted by one of their team designers, would be investigated and removed. [Sorry - not a good enough excuse for me.] The entire gallery was removed almost immediately after that interaction.
I learned of the infringement via a personal email from a designer in Denmark, a tweet with the page link and a direct message from another designer on Twitter. All immediately recognized the C.A.T. logo design as my original creation.
01.12 - New year; new rip-off. Chinese websites catgoo.net, catgoo.com and idc.catgoo.net are making use of my C.A.T. design without authorization. Emailed removal request on 01.20.12. DMCA/removal request sent on 01.23.12. On 01.24.12 I received an email from the contact for the sites and was informed the matter is being investigated. As of 01.24.12 the logo is gone from all sites - although it is still the favicon for each.
12.11 - The Ciber Cat Internet cafe in Mexico blatantly nabbed my original C.A.T. logo design for its Facebook page and images in photo albums - including a holiday card. DMCA filed with Facebook on 12.07.11 and all images were initially removed by Facebook on 12.08.11. A new image incorporating the ripped-off logo was then posted on the page and again removed by Facebook on 12.09.11
12.11 - Wall mural of my 'appropriated' C.A.T. logo design at Mexico offices of Ciber Cat on firm's Google Maps page. DMCA filed with Google on 12.07.11.
12.11 - The Twitter profile of Ciber Cat - an Internet cafe in Mexico - with my original C.A.T. logo design icon as the avatar. DMCA filed with Twitter on 12.07.11. Image removed.
12.11 - The foursquare page for Ciber Cat, an Internet cafe in Mexico, even shows photo images of my ripped-off C.A.T. logo design on the office wall. DMCA needs to be filed via snail mail with foursquare.
11.11 - Chinese site C-Impress.com using C.A.T. logo, as an icon, without authorization. DMCA/Email requesting removal sent to site contact on 11.12.11
To me, it's unbelievable how blatant the copyright infringement is in this example representing a business in Scotland selling a variety of products for cats. I filed a DCMA with Facebook about the usage of the image as a FB Page profile pic and it was removed as an infringing image on 09.15.11. Received an email, in answer to my initial communication of 09.14.11, from Alicatz on 09.17.11 stating that an email had been sent to their web designer D & L Web Design for a response. On 10.11.12 D and L Web Design finally contacted me, asking for a "small period of grace (7 days)" to address the situation. The managing director of the firm explained they had been "massively misled, perhaps conned" by the graphic designer contracted to create the logo. Logo still appearing on Alicatz, and D and L, site as of 12.14.11.
The frustrated site owner sent me an unpleasant email in late December, saying he was to meet with design firm to correct the situation. As of 03.15.12 logo still appears on site of Ali-Catz and web design firm's "About" page.
09.11 - A rip-off of my original C.A.T. logo design appears in a Groupon China promotion for a soft drink
09.11 - My original C.A.T. logo design takes a trip to Ecuador as the ripped-off identity for a moped supplier. I emailed the owner of the company and requested immediate removal of the images. As of 09.19.11 the logo was replaced with a new image.
09.11 - My well-traveled original C.A.T. logo design ripped-off and used to promote online sales of a women's clothing line.
09.11 - An example of my Cat Adoption Logo being offered for sale on a Chinese website. Email requesting removal sent to site contact on 09.13.11.
09.11 - The C.A.T. logo design continues its world tour, showing up in the portfolio of a web page company in Uruguay. Emailed removal request on 09.19.11. Image removed after filing DMCA on 10.11.11. I was told the posting "was a internal mistake."
09.11 - The theatre promotion site BroadwayWorld.com seems to think it's perfectly fine to use someone's original logo design without permission. I have emailed a request for removal of the image.
09.11 - It's never wise to nab a non-profit's logo, remove the law firm sponsor's ID, abuse the image and use it as one's own. I filed a DMCA Notice of Copyright Infringement with both Blogger and Facebook. The images were removed within 24 hours.
Idaho TV station KMVT 'appropriated' logo design I created for Portland Children's Relief Nursery Iron Chef event. I emailed the station asking for removal of the images from the site. I quickly got a response from the General Manager of the station, saying that my logo design for the Iron Chef event was presented to them by a Boise 'TV Idea bank.' He said the images would be removed by the company IT guy. The logo was removed from the site on 09.26.11
09.11 - My original 'Girls' Night Out' logo design was found being offered as a design for sale on the site of a Florida T-shirt printing company. I emailed requesting removal...
First response: "Did not know it belonged to anyone."
Second response: "All logos that have a copyright have the little "c" on them. This does not. How do I know it is yours and you didn't see it on my website and claim it for yourself?"
Soon afterwards it was removed from the site.
11.11 - This web hosting company in Colombia stuck my original DataDork logo design upon a gear and used the result in an online ad. A DMCA was sent to the site on 11.29.11.
09.11 - Somehow my DataDork logo design traveled to Russia and is being sold on a T-shirt offered by a 'graphic designer.' Emailed removal request on 09.19.11. DMCA Notice of Copyright Infringement filed with webhost on 10.08.11. Site down as of 12.09.11.
09.11 - This site for outsourcing work to the Philippines doesn't seem to care that someone 'outsourced' my DataDork logo design for use as their avatar. I emailed the site, requesting removal, with no response. A DMCA was sent on 11.14.11 and the image was removed within an hour.
09.11 - I was somewhat stunned to see my "The Food Chain" logo being displayed on the blog of the Carrera de Publicidad Instituto Profesional de Chile [Advertising Career Professional Institute of Chile]. The '3 Big Fish' rip-off was used to identify a 2009 advertising workshop. I received a very nice email from the school's Director of Communications - who was mortified by the unauthorized use of my image. He stated that he was contacting the designer they hired for an explanation.
11.11 - The identity icon for Italian window/door manufacturer Pizzagalli Infissi appears to be MUCH more than inspired by my logo for DesignEire in Ireland.
09.11 - I emailed this web design firm in Ireland asking that my DesignEire icon be removed from their home page. I quickly received a response stating that the icon was just a "placeholder left on homepage mistakenly by their designer when the site went live." It was removed that day.
09.11 - My original Pizza Luna logo was removed very quickly from an archived restaurant logo design portfolio of design firm w/ Korean web presence. I sent them an email informing them I'd found the image in their online portfolio and it was removed within minutes.
10.11 - My Parenting Alliance logo icon somehow ended up in the online portfolio of a design student in Brasil. I posted a comment on the blog where the logo is displayed on 10.02.11. The image was removed by 10.03.11.
09.11 - It seems my street clothing Walk Your Talk logo design is attending a church school in Korea. An email requesting removal has been sent.
09.11 - Somehow my original 'Walk Your Talk" icon strolled onto the logo design portfolio page of a Hungarian design firm. I emailed the company and within a couple hours the image was removed.
01.12 - In September 2011 the copyright infringement of my Walk Your Talk design, by the Romanian non-profit Fundatia Alta, was first discovered. At that time, Facebook immediately removed the image from the offending page. Emails to the organization, and a DMCA removal request, were ignored in regards to the website. On 01.23.12 a new FB page was discovered and Facebook removed the image on 01.24.12. The website still includes the logo in question. On 02.04.12 I received an email from the organization, stating that the image they had been using had been created pro bono for them by a designer - and that it would no longer be used.
09.11 - My 'Walk Your Talk' logo design seems to be strolling through Romania, representing a nonprofit foundation. Email notification has been sent. No response to email. DMCA filed with Facebook on 10.07.11 and the profile pic was removed.
09.11 - The theatre department of a Presbyterian school in Georgia, 'appropriated' my For The Birds logo, decapitated it and used it as the identity for a show. I emailed the director of the department and in a very short time received an apology and assurance that the images would soon be removed. He also mentioned he would be having a talk with the artists for the department.
10.11 - My design for the company Pajama Parties being used as a Facebook Page profile pic. DMCA submitted to Facebook on 10.02.11. The image was removed by Facebook on 10.03.11.
11.11 - This theatrical Facebook page ripped off my Driving Miss Daisy logo design from the site of licensing firm Theatre Logos Agency - with the copyright watermark in place. DMCA filed with Facebook on 11.15.11. The image was removed by Facebook on 11.16.11.
11.11 - A Yahoo Maktoob page nabbing my Driving Miss Daisy logo design from the site of licensing firm Theatre Logos Agency with the copyright watermark in place, to use as illustration for a review of the movie. DMCA filed with Yahoo Maktoob on 11.17.11.
09.11 - Somehow my 2001 logo design for a 'Driving Miss Daisy' production hit the road and ended up in promoting a theatre presentation in Stamford, CT. The logo is licensed by Theater Logos Agency - but this company did not have permission for use. An email requesting removal was sent. I received a response saying the image was simply a "placeholder" on the site and it was removed.
12.11 - Still another theatre company, this time the Subset Players in New York, nabbed my original "Shkspr" logo design from the site of licensing agent Theater Logos Agency [ http://theatrelogos.com/ ] - with the © watermark in place - for use in promoting a production. DMCA filed with Facebook on 12.13.11. Image removed by Facebook on 12.14.11.
12.11 - Yet another theatre company, this time the Millennium Repertory Company in Tennessee, has nabbed one of my original theatrical logo designs from licensing agent Theater Logos Agency [ http://theatrelogos.com/ ] - with the © watermark in place - for use in promoting a production. DMCA filed with Facebook on 12.13.11. Facebook informed me that I was not authorized to file the DMCA because of the licensing by the TLA - even though I always retain unlimited rights to my original designs. A new DMCA was sent to the Millennium Repertory Company, Eventful.com and Facebook, with TLA being copied on the email. The images were removed from Facebook and Eventful.com on 12.14.11.
11.11 - MobiAsset.com - registered in Cairo, Egypt - used my Indies logo without authorization for their restaurant application marketing. The promo includes a faux testimonial from a restaurant that hasn't existed for years. DMCA notification sent on 11.06.11. The images were removed in about an hour and the existing "testimonial" was changed to be from "George Mitchell, Noodle Station Restaurant."
11.11 - Loco Kitchen restaurant - in Asahikawa, Japan - may have been established in 2011, but the business is using the palm tree from my 1993 Indies logo.
10.11 - Elements of Hawaii restaurant ID created in 2002 appear to be much more than 'inspired' by my 1993 Indies logo. My attorney has been informed of about this situation.
10.11 - The palm tree from my Indies Restaurant and Bar logo has become the ID for a coconut company in Mexico. A removal request email has been sent. Site down and undergoing redesign with new logo as of 11.14.11.
10.11 - Looks like a sloppy tracing tool was used to send my Indies Restaurant logo palm tree to a First Baptist Church camp in Huntsville, AL. I sent a removal request email to the pastor on 10.02.11 and the image was removed by that evening. The image reappeared on the site on 10.03.11 and a DMCA was filed with the site's webhost. The image was removed on 10.04.11.
10.11 - Facebook removed this Page pic for infringement after I found my Indies palm tree at a beach bar in Rimini, Italy.
10.11 - My Indies Restaurant logo palm tree takes a trip to Brasil and ends up as a wall decal for sale by Globo Signs. An email removal request has been sent with no response. The matter will be turned over to my attorney.
01.12 - This rip-off of my design for the City of Portland's Neighborhood Service Center was found via Google on the Chinese site pooban.com, but it appears to have already been removed.
12.11 - Roberto Campos Construtora e Incorporadora in Brazil nabbed my City of Portland Neighborhood Service Center logo, minimally altered the design and features it in Shop Tour and YouTube videos.
12.11 - The logo for 2008 and 2010 National Disability Services conferences in Australia seems to be MUCH more than inspired by my Neighborhood Service Center logo for the City of Portland. NDS was notified of the issue via email on 12.05.11. I never heard back directly from anyone at NDS, but all images removed as of 12.19.11.
11.11 - A Toronto design firm was meticulous in butchering the Neighborhood Service Center logo I designed for the City of Portland - and should probably feel lucky it was a failed concept for their project. I posted a comment on their blog and sent them a DMCA on 11.29.11. The DMCA was sent at 11:00 and the image was gone by 11:15.
10.11 - A hatchet job on my City of Portland's Neighborhood Service Center logo as it represents a nonprofit in Surabaya, Indonesia. A removal request email has been sent.
09.11 - LogoDesignXperts.com, self-proclaimed as "The World's Most Trusted Design Service," 'designed' a church using the major element from a logo I created for the City of Portland's Neighborhood Service Center program. My initial email to them has gone unanswered. DMCA Notice of Copyright Infringement filed with web host Brinkster.com on 09.15.11. Image removed from site on 09.20.11.
09.11 - My logo design for City of Portland's Neighborhood Service Center abused and used as a Facebook Page profile pic. DMCA Notice of Copyright Infringement filed with FB on 09.19.11 and image was removed.
09.11 - Use as a corporate cause identity in Italy doesn't justify rip-off of logo designed for City of Portland Neighborhood Service Center. DMCA sent to corporation. I received an email on 09.20.11 from Gottsche, the Milan advertising agency representing Aspiag Despar, requesting some historical background on my design. The image was then removed from the Despar website.
02.12 - I originally found the logo I designed for City of Portland Neighborhood Service Center on the Despar website in late 2011. After sending a DCMA to the Italian company, I received a somewhat accusatory email from the Milan advertising agency for Despar, questioning the originality of my own design. I was able to provide documentation and the logo was soon removed from their site. In revisiting the site, I noticed that they have since even edited the photo on the webpage to eliminate the logo on the over-sized check [lower right corner].
01.12 - Somehow the New Life Community Church, in Concord MA, feels it's OK to remove the tagline from my original 'What's for Dinner?' logo and use the design for an illustration in this post about a Bible passage. A DMCA removal request was sent on 01.23.12. The image was removed within 45 minutes. The response I received was "A ministry member found the image on Google and was not aware of the copyright infringement."
01.12 - Yet another blog writer who seems to think there's nothing wrong about using a logo, without authorization, as an illustration for an article in no way related to the identity. DMCA filed with Blogger on 01.21.12. As of 01.24.12 the image was removed by the blogger, replaced with photos and message from the writer apologizing and stating "no more Googled images for me!"
12.11 - A Twitter user removed the tagline from my original What's For Dinner? logo and used it as a profile avatar. A DMCA was sent to Twitter on 12.04.11. The image was removed by Twitter on 12.09.11.
10.11 - Flea Market Style magazine used my What's for Dinner? logo design as an illustration on their blog. A request for removal was emailed on 10.07.11. Image was removed 10.07.11.
09.11 - I find some irony in the unauthorized use of my What's For Dinner logo image on The Hacker's Paradise site - but not as a reference to golf. I attempted to post a message on the site, asking for removal of the image, but it was not posted. I emailed the site administrator, but have not had a response. A DMCA was filed with the site's host.
09.11 - The What's For Dinner? logo was found being used as the profile pic on 13 Facebook Pages. The copyright infringements were reported to Facebook and the images were taken down within a day.
09.11 - My What's For Dinner? logo design was used as illustrations on 10 blogs without permission. Most were removed by blog writers after receiving removal requests. Blogger had to remove three after DMCAs were filed.
10.11 - A SearchEngines.ru member conducts a "contest" for a theatre logo and gets a rip of my Family Values logo design as an entry.
11.11 - This Canadian 'designer' nabbed my Chameleon design concept and then couldn't be bothered to change the typeface for her Facebook profile image. She also used the graphic on her AgentSolo page. Not smart. DMCAs sent to both on 11.22.11. Image removed from Facebook on 11.23.11. Image removed from AgentSolo.com on 11.24.11..
09.11 - My original design for friend and hairstylist Micki King was found on a Zazzle vendors page, adorning bags she has for sale. Initial email to Zazzle was ignored. Then I tweeted this example and had a response in 6 minutes. Zazzle had the product removed in about an hour.
09.11 - It's totally bizarre that an ad agency in China is using my original Jeff Maul logo design to promote their services on multiple websites.
09.11 - UK's ‘Explore the Wild’ bought graphic used in website banner and background 'in good faith' from LogoGarden.com - it's my Sunriver Preparatory School logo design. The site owner was incredibly nice in this situation. When the images were removed he sent me an email saying:
"It sounds like quite a problem with artwork being copied, and I will be much more vigilant in future when purchasing such things – some of the offers looked too good to be true, and I can see why now."
My original Balloons on Broadway logo was 'appropriated' by a balloon company in Spain. Only the text was changed within the identity. Google Image Search found the altered image as a profile photo on Facebook. I filed a DMCA Notice of Copyright Infringement filed with FB on 09.11.11 and the logo was removed the next day.
My 'What The Butler Saw' logo was originally created for the triangle productions! theatre company in Portland. Like many of my design for plays it was then licensed with the Theatre Logos Agency [http://www.theatrelogos.com/]. This German site obviously nabbed the logo from the TLA site - the © watermark and copyright info are still in place!
10.11 - A SearchEngines.ru member conducts a "contest" for a theatre logo and gets a rip of my "What The Butler Saw" logo design as an entry.
09.11 - My original TraveLady logo design was recently used, abused and offered for sale by LogoGarden.com. Now it seems she's taken an unauthorized trip overseas. A removal request has been emailed to this site.
I also have a few previous examples in my archives:
02.11 - There are numerous companies around the world, providing a number of different services, with variations on the name 'LogoMotives." Although different in design, the horizontal image was more than inspired by my own identity - which I've used since 1997. I emailed the business in question and the logo was quickly removed, only to be replaced by the second image. At that point I consulted a lawyer and emailed the business in question that I was doing so. That second image soon disappeared as well.
05.08 - After several other designers found their original work being submitted to a logo 'contest' site by other so-called 'designers,' I took a look. The elogocontest.com site was were I found this image; poorly executed, but certainly more than inspired by my own logo design for the Seacoast AIDS Walk. I reported it to the site and it was immediately removed.
Additional online searches at the time, found two examples of my Seacoast logo design being displayed in online designer portfolios in China. Emails to the ISPs of the sites resulted in one image being removed and one portfolio being taken down.
05.08 - A design industry peer sent me this image in May 2008, noticing a strong resemblance to my Jeff Maul logo. A rip-off? Probably a bit too strong. Inspired by my logo design? Perhaps.
01.08 - One of the odder logo 'appropriation' stories in my career:
Friend and client, Ron Pitt informed me that his dear friend Ashley, whom he had known since birth as he was a longtime friend of her mother, had assisted him over the years with events and was an "expert balloon inflater." This past year, Ashley and her husband, Travis, had the opportunity to travel through East Africa with her parents. Being community-minded, they spent much of their time in small villages getting to know people, creating relationships and making new friends along the way.
The photos Ashley shared showcased one of the families they befriended. Ashley was the first to notice that one of the boys was wearing shorts with my logo design for Ron's business, Balloons on Broadway.
Unfortunately no one is able to adequately explain how the Balloons on Broadway logo ended up embroidered on the leg of a boy's shorts on a continent far away. As Ron noted, "We've never embroidered shorts, nor done much marketing in East Africa (*wink*). In fact we only had one screen run of 12 t-shirts with that logo and they all ended up on the back of our staff. That's it."
"The only way I can rationalize it is that the logo appeared in a publication of some sort in the UK (perhaps one of those listed above) and since Kenya's part of the Commonwealth, the publication ended up there and was spotted by someone who thought it would be a good knock-off," he added. "The boy's mother said she bought the shorts at the local market and couldn't quite understand what all the fuss was about - the kid just needed some shorts."
The search for other examples continues...
Related articles
• UCDA "Designer" features "Logo Rip-off" article
• Google's reverse image search: Indies Restaurant
• Google's reverse image search: A designer's best friend in finding and fighting unauthorized usage
• LogoGarden.com harvests pros' logos - including Jeff Fisher designs - and sells images on site
© 2012 Jeff Fisher LogoMotives
