A History of Logo Larceny
Take a good look. On the left is a logo created by Mike Ivall and first posted to the Icethetics blog on July 8, 2008. It has a habit of stirring up controversy in the form of infringement because, on right is the new logo of the NAHL's Port Huron Fighting Falcons, who will have an unveiling event for it on Wednesday.
There is no question where this Fighting Falcons logo came from. Too many distinct elements just copied outright without much else altered. What is perhaps most disturbing is that this team isn't even bothering to credit the logo's original creator and, in fact, crediting someone else entirely. Someone named Larry Smith of Tag Sports Graphics gets the nod on the team's website.
Mike tells me he emailed the team over the weekend and is waiting to hear back. I also have an email into the them seeking comment on the situation. I'll let you know if they reply.
This isn't the first time Mike's logo has been used without his permission. Most recently, he worked out a deal with the Maplesoft Hawks, a AAA organization based in Ottawa, had been using his exact logo on team merchandise.
However, a rather shady company called Chi-City Tees, presumably based in Chicago, is selling t-shirts featuring Mike's design — without his permission. They list no physical address on their website. Another company called MNM Hockey, is using a slightly altered version of the logo to promote its site. To my knowledge, neither organization has worked out a deal with Mike.
That just makes them thieves.
Chris
The situation regarding the logo seems to have sputtered out this week. The Fighting Falcons will apparently go back to the drawing board on this one. Times Herald writer Paul Costanzo spoke with president/GM Ernie Hicke at Wednesday's press conference:
On the logo: I talked briefly to Hicke about it, and basically the team is looking for a new one. Mike Ivall had created a logo very similar to the Fighting Falcons (not the same) and had contacted the team. Nobody wanted to get into a legal dispute over it, so the team is just going to create a new logo.
Sounds like that wraps things up. I'll keep an eye out for the new logo and share it here on the blog when the team does unveil it. The season begins Sept. 10, so we should see it before then.
Reader Comments (72)
I'm no legal expert, so I'm not going to get into the argument over trademarks and fair use. I don't think the fighting Hawks should remove the logo, nor do I think the talented Mr Ivall should pursue any legal action or compensation, but it would be nice if he was at the very least credited for the design
@reality - When looking at Ivall's design, sure there's borrowing of elements from the Indian head logo, but isn't that to be expected when creating concept art based off an already established team? Do you really expect everyone who visits this page is looking for concepts that are always totally different from what already exists? Doubtful, and designers who contribute likely aren't thinking the same thing either. Often for concepts, we want to see what talented designers would do in a "what if?" situation if they had their chance to design X team. Many of the designs here have common elements or borrow from existing designs and logos, but it doesn't necessarily mean they are infringing on the respective copyrights and trademarks.
Here we have a situation where I'm sure that Ivall just created his artwork to display his ideas on a forum where people who like hockey and/or design can see them. Basically there was an open call: "Show us what you got," and Ivall submitted his design for that purpose. But to say that just because his design is inspired and bears similarities to the Indian head he's not entitled to protect his intellectual property is unfair to anyone who posts their own ideas on the internet. As far as I know, he wasn't motivated to make money off of the Blackhawks when he created this design. That doesn't make it right or fair for others to misappropriate his work without compensation, acknowledgement, and even claimed to be an original design by someone else and to say he has no remedies for that is ludicrous. Besides, a court might not necessarily "throw this case out" - perhaps Ivall doesn't even need to recover money off of this design, but I think he still has a good case for stopping the Port Huron Falcons from further using and misappropriating his design.
@reality
actually, you're missing a HUGE legal point here. mike never intended to benefit financially from his concept, therefore, there is no infringement on the intellectual property of the chicago blackhawks. in fact, he acknowledges the chicago blackhawks IP as the main source of his concept -- kind of like footnotes in a research paper.
however, the falcons (along with the t-shirt companies) DO intend to benefit financially from the intellectual work of someone else -- therefore, they are potentially open to legal action. it doesn't matter where the initial design came from or how it came about. the issue is simply a matter of the unauthorized use of someone else's IP for financial gain.
IMO if people are so lazy that they just steal exact logos, a simple watermarking or something like that would most likely stop them.
As far as I can tell Mike Ivall HAS benefited financially from this logo. He did strike a deal with that school that is using his logo.
As far as trademark issues are concerned, you guys do realize that the name "Blackhawks" and associated logos are owned by Chicago don't you? The team could quite reasonably make a case that ANY concept that is clearly based on that branding is infringment.
Legally you can not trademark any logo that will "confuse consumers about the relationship between one party and another". The law is pretty clear.
real --
again, you're pulling in points that are pretty much irrelevant.
clearly, we all recognize that "blackhawks" and all the associated colors, logos, etc are the property of the team. however, like i said, mike did not originally create the logo to benefit financially -- it was simply a "what if?" concept submitted to a design blog as a creative exercise. as far as i know, he was not commissioned or compensated by anyone to produce the work.
still, it is his personal interpretation of a blackhawks-inspired logo, and that product is his intellectual property -- and no one should be able to use it without his permission.
now, you made me think of something else -- i suppose that it would be possible for the chicago blackhawks to maybe make a claim against the people using mike's work, but it would have absolutely nothing to do with mike. it would probably be based on unauthorized use for sale of material (regardless of where it came from) that potentially infringes on trademarks owned by the team, but that would be a tough one.
at the end of the day, the fact that it is was an interpretation created based on existing trademarks most likely wouldn't matter.
granted, our whole conversation is based on speculation and is purely hypothetical -- but it's still entertaining to discuss.
@ reality
What you've said, as I understand it, either couldn't be more true or is a load of nonsense. Which one, we don't know. In a post on this very site on April 19, 2010, entitled "Logo Tourneys in High Gear!", Chris stated, as part of a follow-up to the Maplesoft Hawks incident, that "[t]erms of their agreement are none of our business." In other words, we don't know whether or not Ivall profited from the logo like you say they he did. In the upcoming days, the terms of the agreement Ivall made with Maplesoft may become public because of the Fighting Falcons incident, but at the moment, just like the terms of the agreement, it's none of our business.
This is typical of how the NAHL operates to begin with. This franchise was just rewarded July 1 - another quick cash grab by owners in a poorly run league. The fact that they ripped someone off in scrambling to get a logo is no surprise.
As far as I can tell, Mike Ivall doesn't have the only logo that was ripped off in this league. I was looking at the NAHL website, and saw that the Wichita Falls Wildcats (c. 2004) had virtually the exact same logo as the WHL's Prince George Cougars unveilied in the mid 90's. Unless the Cougars have been financially compensated for this logo, the league should be doing more research on where these teams are getting their logos from.
@john
The gist of this conversation is that Mike Ivall wants to trademark a concept and enter into a licensing deal or send a cease and desist order. Sorry but that's not fair use we're talking about here and the law is not on his side.
The issue of trademark law could not be any clear in this instance. The Blackhawks trademark is what's protected by law. Mike Ivall's concept isn't. Any concept or logo that "easily confused" with an existing brand can not be trademarked and that's exactly the problem with this concept. Anyone that looks at this concept immediately identifies it with the Blackhawks and that was the intention of the concept in the first place.
What this ultimately means is that unless the Blackhawks decide to take this to court or Mike Ivall spends a lot of money to hire a battery of lawyers to scare these people away, there is nothing he can do to protect his concept. It can not be trademarked so therefore it can not be protected.
Mr. Reality wrote, "Mike Ivall may have good reason to be pissed about someone profiting from his design, but he has no grounds to claim a trade mark for a concept that is unquestionably is based on the Blackhawks brand." This is an incorrect understanding of the law. Mr. Ivall may not own trade mark rights to a "Chicago Blackhawks" logo, but does retain intellectual property rights (for the concept, and "look & feel") to the logo he designed.
For legal precedence, please research the 1996-98 version of the Baltimore Ravens logo. A jury for the US Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals determined that the Ravens' logo infringed on a copyright retained by Frederick E. Bouchat, an amateur artist in Maryland. Mr. Bouchat had submitted his design to the Maryland Stadium Authority after learning that Baltimore was to acquire an NFL team. He was not credited for the design when the logo was announced. The Ravens changed their logo after the verdict.
You can compare Mr. Bouchat's original sketch and the Ravens' version here
Brendan, the Wichita Falls Wildcats and Prince George Cougars are owned by the same man - Rick Brodsky. Compare this to "this:"http://nahlwichita.pointstreaksites.com/view/nahlwichita/get-to-know-your-team/coaches-staff-1/rick-brodsky ...
real --
you're right, mike can't trademark his work -- because it's not really a trademark. he didn't create the design to use it as an "identifier" for his business or services. there isn't any infringement because it doesn't create any confusion to potential customers, because the work is presented clearly as a design exercise and as nothing else. now, if mike were to start a professional hockey team and use his blackhawk-themed designs, then he'd be most likely be in some trouble.
however, he does have a copyright on his intellectual property.
as soon as a person creates an original work, they own the copyright on it -- even if the work is inspired by or draws heavily from another source. and especially in this case, where the work was presented as a hypothetical rebranding of an existing, well-known entity.
if you were to write a song tonight, you would immediately own the copyright on it simply because you created it. to make it "official" you would have to register it, but even if you didn't, you would still have legal grounds to stand on to protect your work.
it's mike's "take" on the chicago blackhawks, and no one can use it without his permission or at the very least crediting him.
i just wanted to clarify that -- say a lawsuit were to be filed -- a court wouldn't immediately throw the case out because it was something based on the chicago blackhawks. that is a separate legal issue entirely. the court's concern would be focused on mike's ownership of the copyright on his intellectual property, and the suit would progress from there.
In a separate blog dealing with the Port Huron Fighting Falcons press conference, the reporter noted that the team owner said they will find a new logo rather than get into a dispute over the one on question.
Hilariously, if you look up Tag Sports Graphics on the interweb, it comes up as a collection agency in La Habra, California.
Obviously a conservative and professional organization.
Kudos John & Jim for the well-informed comments.
At least they improved on it.
So today they announced their new logo - and it's the same logo as before only recolored. You can see it here (on OSC) along with the announcement today
The "logo" mentioned by Yussi above is only a shoulder patch.
I don't understand why Mike Ivall wouldn't be happy that a team loves his logo.
This does'nt surprize me at all. Falcons name was taken from a winning Girls 14u travel fastpitch softball team , named *** Port Huron Falcons*** who been around for five years. Now the google pages are full of losing articles ,so give it up P.H.F.F. so shame on you....
I hope the maplesoft hawks have indeed worked out a deal with Mike because ive seen the logo posted in a few arenas around the ottawa-gatineau area recently...
I live in Ottawa, and have formerly been involved with the Maplesoft Hawks.... my sister was playing with one of their AAA girls teams last spring, but does not wish to return with them this season. While we were with the Hawks, I realized something. They are an organization, and do not wish that their players have fun playing hockey. They would rather threaten their coaches with their jobs, if the team doesn't perform.
They are a classless organization, who only cares about winning, and nothing else. If their teams are not successful, they will force coaches to cut the weaker players on the teams that don't meet their apparent 'requirements'.
The fact they would break the law and recklessly steal a logo the way that they did, doesn't surprise me in the least.