There are two organizations here in town that have the same logo as Pepsi Cola, the red white and blue sphere.
The Studebaker Foundation: Exact same logo as Pepsi, except their sphere is rotated 90 degrees counterclockwise, making the center white “s” stripe, vertical.
OJ Shoemaker: a plumbing/heating contractor. Their logo is orientated the same as Studebaker but with a gold brick “band” around the circumference and a wooden shoe in the exact center.
Isn’t this some sort of copyright violation? If not, the variations on the theme, seem so trivial that I don’t know how they can get away with this.
If the logos are rotated 90[sup]o[/sup] from the Pepsi logo, then they probably more closely resemble a yin/yang, which has been public domain for a few thousand years. After a certain point, a logo can be close enough to a simple figure to be essentially undefendable… Do you really think that 7up can complain about someone else using a red circle, for instance?
I think it’s also significant (if not of utmost importance) that the companies in question are in completely different fields than Pepsi is. If another cola company used a logo that was very similar, I imagine that their intent would be much more suspect. As it is, how many people are going to walk into OJ Shoemaker and mistakenly ask for a Pepsi, because the logo is so close?
And copyrights only apply to those whose product could be confused with the product of the original registrant. For example, Studebaker is in the clear. So is the plumbing/heating contractor. Why? They don’t make soft drinks. Apple computers can’t sue Apple records for the same reason.
Except that Apple records did in fact sue Apple computer, and won. It only serves to illustrate the point, however. Apple didn’t sue Apple until Apple starting putting CD-ROMS and music stuff in their computers. I’m not sure of the details of the case, but Apple would not have been able to sue Apple before then.
panama jack
If you add 3 apples and 5 oranges, you get 8 orange apples.
Still, given what I recall about these megacorporations and their analness about logo/trademark infringement, I’m certain that if Pepsi were aware of Studebaker’s use of an acutely similar design, they’d be sending out a team of high-priced lawyers demanding a cease-and-desist or extracting a huge sum of money. Part of the reason these companies spend so much on graphic designers is that once they hit upon a simple, yet easily recognized symbol (McDonald’s Arches, Nike’s Swoosh, Coke’s Wave, etc.), it becomes ingrained in the public’s mind. Much research (read: money) is put into what image is most effective. That anyone else would take advantage of the time, energy and, again, money their company invested in coming up with a logo, and simply turn it sideways, I’m sure would have Pepsi execs steaming.
Studebaker started out building Conestoga wagons; the museum will be celebrating the 150th anniversary of the marque in two years. I own a 1949 Studebaker truck that has that ‘S’ on the tailgate, and it was an established trademark (I don’t know if it was registered) at that time. I get the feeling that Pepsi was the upstart here.
I don’t know about OJ Shoemaker. If you’re in or near South Bend, Indiana, it may have started as a point of civic pride for Studebaker.
Note that Pepsi has to file such suits in order to protect its trademark. If a company doesn’t defend its trademark, it loses protection, and anyone can use it. That’s why you get those awful cases where Disney sues a nursery school for painting Mickey on their wall - the law pretty much forces them to.
Regarding the Disney infringement…I saw a T-shirt at Victory Field (Indianapolis) last week. On the front it said,“So, Mike Tyson, where do you go from here? I’m going to Disney World!” On the back was the Disney logo with a bite taken out of each ear. I don’t think it was an Official Disney Product.
