[mccannable]

I am opening a new auto repair shop and anther shop from 2 towns over stopped by and asked us to change our logo. We politely declined because we think they are to general of logos but they do have similarity seeing as we are in the same business. We are both newer in the area but our logo was designed by a logo mill online that does thousands a month.

here is our logo


and theirs

[mbintx]

I'm no expert, but I think you're in the clear. While there are similarities, I wouldn't consider them "confusingly similar" enough for you not to be able to defend your design.

[Mr Tonka]

You could find 100 logos for functioning business that looks like the both of those.

[mccannable]

thanks for the response

[Inspired]

Does not look similar to me at all

[3 Stripes]

These two don't look alike.

[///3dkn]

Your logo looks better IMO, maybe they're jealous..

[mccannable]

Originally Posted by 3dkn

Your logo looks better IMO, maybe they're jealous..

I like ours a lot. Damn good deal for $40

[Billup]

I design logo's on the side (believe it or not) and have dealt with this kind of stuff in the past. You are in the clear. For it to become a legal issue, there would need to be more shared dimensioning and characteristics aside from the "wavy" outline, which is what they see from a competitors stand point.

Nothing to worry about. Plus, yours also does look much better, which is why they may have asked for you to change it.

[DF]

I work in marketing and design logos. If this went to court, you would not win. Change it.

If you want to TRY and fight them then you can register your mark with the copyright office and get assigned a TM. Then you have to use it EVERY TIME you print the logo. You could then say you trade marked it first. They will come back with how long they have been using the mark in the market place and the judge will decide. However I am not sure this is worth a $40 logo. The problem with cheap logos is they often take existing art work and use it again. The problem is when that existing artwork already exists in the same market place.

[ybbiz34]

Originally Posted by DF

I work in marketing and design logos. If this went to court, you would not win. Change it.

If you want to TRY and fight them then you can register your mark with the copyright office and get assigned a TM. Then you have to use it EVERY TIME you print the logo. You could then say you trade marked it first. They will come back with how long they have been using the mark in the market place and the judge will decide. However I am not sure this is worth a $40 logo. The problem with cheap logos is they often take existing art work and use it again. The problem is when that existing artwork already exists in the same market place.

I would tend to agree. While the words words car, guys, and pros are very, very generic, there is quite a bit of similarity between the marks.

Furthermore, your mark is promoting a very similar business in close proximity to another business that has been using the mark.

IMO, it's not worth the potential extra time and money, particularly at a time where your business is just getting started.

[mccannable]

It's not about the cost of a new logo it's that we really like the logo. I am looking into trademarking but it seems like a huge task, and like said before there are probably 100s of names/logos with similarities.

I'm not sure if it's work our time time running it by our attoney until we get a letter from theirs.

[ybbiz34]

Originally Posted by mccannable

It's not about the cost of a new logo it's that we really like the logo. I am looking into trademarking but it seems like a huge task, and like said before there are probably 100s of names/logos with similarities.

I'm not sure if it's work our time time running it by our attoney until we get a letter from theirs.

There might be similarities between logos out there, sure. But when similar logos/trademarks pop up in the same industry, and in the same proximity, the problems arise.

If you were using this logo in a different State (e.g., Illinois, Ohio, etc.), there likely wouldn't be any problem. The fact that you're offering a similar (if not identical) service just a few towns/miles away does not work in your favor.

[mccannable]

They are body and we are general repair.

Plus they are new as well and probably have a huge varying/start up cost

[Whostheboss]

Am i the only one? I dont see shizz

[PINeely]

Originally Posted by Whostheboss

Am i the only one? I dont see shizz

Probably just you. Everyone else seems to see it fine.

[DF]

Originally Posted by mccannable

It's not about the cost of a new logo it's that we really like the logo. I am looking into trademarking but it seems like a huge task, and like said before there are probably 100s of names/logos with similarities.

I'm not sure if it's work our time time running it by our attoney until we get a letter from theirs.

It seems to be changing it would be the easiest thing to do. And trademarking isnt a huge task. Its a bit of a pain. But if you care about your business im not sure why you would not want to protect it. Unless its just a bs side thing, in which case changing it would seem to be the answer.

[Ehwnnc]

We got a letter from BMW NA for our logo haha. No clue how they even found us but they did. We changed it within a week. Really sucked bc we already had tens of thousands of dollars in advertising and so on with the logo. Also sucked bc i loved the look of it

here is what it was.

[mccannable]

Originally Posted by Ehwnnc

We got a letter from BMW NA for our logo haha. No clue how they even found us but they did. We changed it within a week. Really sucked bc we already had tens of thousands of dollars in advertising and so on with the logo. Also sucked bc i loved the look of it

here is what it was.

Thankfully this is a small company and I doubt it's worth their cost to pursue it past a letter. I'll start seeking a trademark attorney.

[DF]

It is worth it to them. Its the foundation of any case. You have to pursue all of them. If you dont show the court you are not protecting your mark, they will let that mark be used. I have to do this all the time. Because in court they can say "Look they didnt go after this small person and they knew about it" Its not about the money its about proof you are protecting your mark.

[Whostheboss]

Originally Posted by PINeely

Probably just you. Everyone else seems to see it fine.

For some reason, Firefox doesn't show. I can see the photos when i use Safari on my iMac.

[Maestro]

I am not sure if you would win or lose if you fought, however it comes down to who has a copyright and trademark on the design. The other important thing is you have to activity use and enforce your trademarks if you do not you may not have a defensive position. However, just because someone uses a name or a logo also does not mean they own it, many people never bother to register.

I will tell you as the one person above did, do not copy or use any other larger corporations names or logos when doing business they will come after you at first they will be nice but if you ignore them they will sue you.