Logo violations... a bizar case

Written by Arno Zijlstra Tuesday, 25 November 2008 06:00

The Joomla! logo sign is a very well known and much used sign around the internet on mostly Joomla! related sites. In most cases this is to show visitors they are using Joomla!, supporting Joomla! or creating extensions for Joomla! and in most cases this is done with no bad intent or with permission to use it.

In some cases however the Joomla! logo is abused and or whether deliberately or not misused against the clear Joomla! logo guidelines which you can read here.

A clear case of violation

Here's a summary of the Joomla! logo guidelines but make sure you read everything before you start using it.

The Joomla logo is NOT trademark free. It is important to maintain the integrity of the logo. We therefore ask that anyone considering use of the logo keep the following guidelines in mind.

The logo should use only the official logo colors listed in this manual.
Any scaling must retain the original proportions of the logo.
Other than the variations listed in this manual, the logo may not be modified in any way.
Additional text may not be added in such a way that it appears to be part of the logo itself.

Any usage of the logo must be approved. In general permission will be given providing that your usage of the logo is not done in such a way as to imply any form of approval of the product, website, event or other idea or product by Joomla! or that there is any official connection with Joomla!, joomla.org or Open Source Matters.

Permission will not be granted to use the logo on any form of merchandise. An official Joomla shop is provided for this purpose.

Today an incredible case appeared on the Joomla! forums where a big shopping mall in India is basically using a flat out copy of the Joomla! logo. It's used on the buildings, flags, signs and advertising.

The Joomla! logo is custom created and registered trademark for the project and is for many thé sign of the project and it should be very clear that cases like this one are an incredible bad case of research and branding.

About the author Arno Zijlstra

Arno Zijlstra is the creative mind and founder of alvaana.com development lab for the web. He is one of the original founders of the Joomla! Open Source Content Management System and has been involved in a couple of other Open Source projects. His passion is creating sites and interfaces that look different and are built with accessibility, usability and web-standards being truly important. Always on the look out for new things and open to learn from anyone, anytime.

Follow me at http://twitter.com/me_arno

More about Arno Zijlstra

There are 8 comments posted.

# 1 - Posted by: Sathit on 2008-11-25 06:18:46

If I write some article, publish some book or magazine, Can I use Joomla! logo in this case?

I send email and submit a form to ask this question in Joomla! Site but didn't get any response.

Re: In the US

# 2 - Posted by: David on 2008-11-25 09:06:04

Hi Arno

What if this mall was in the US? Would OSM take some legal steps?

Regards

David

Re: Check the guideline Sathit

# 3 - Posted by: Robin Muilwijk on 2008-11-25 09:09:54

@ Sathit,

See http://www.joomla.org/about-joomla/the-project/logo-usage-and-brand-guide.html

If you follow those guidelines I think you are allowed to use the logo. But best to wait for an answer, they will reply on your request.

Re: That's what I call violation :)

# 4 - Posted by: Ivo Apostolov on 2008-11-25 10:55:21

LOL, I couldn't believe this, when I saw the pictures :)

In respect to waiting for an answer ... hmz, from my personal experience, it is very probable that the guy will never get one. :)

# 5 - Posted by: Amy Stephen on 2008-11-25 15:19:38

Wow. They used the Joomla! logo on buildings, flags, signs and advertising? So glad that a community member reported that.

One of the comments in the forum thread raised the possibility that a designer provided it. Wouldn't that be something? Hire a professional designer to help with branding and have them rip off someone else's design.

That's pretty shocking.

Re: Logo violations... a bizar case

# 6 - Posted by: Ian Maclennan on 2008-11-25 15:44:51

I'm sure it happens all the time. I recoded a site for somebody once as a favour (volunteer for a non-profit) and the head of the non-profit turned around and sold it - they just changed the colours in my HTML code and claimed it as 'theirs'. *sigh*

Re: This is not a TM infringement

# 7 - Posted by: Brian Teeman on 2008-11-26 01:43:57

Whilst this is clearly and unquestionably a breach of copyright it is probably NOT a breach of trademark.

Unlike a copyright which is automaticaly applied to anything that is created, (you can register a copyright in some countries but it is not required in most countries), a trademark must be applied for and granted.

Not only that but you have to designate the "trade categories" that the mark applies to and it is not possible to have a mark applied to all categories.

For example I might apply for a trademark for the clothing category but that would not prevent usage by someone else on a book.

In addition whilst some countries automaticaly accept as valid a trademark registered in another country many countries will only class a valid trademark as that registered in the country.

To make matters even more complex some countries offer a degree of protection on a non-registered trademark if it can be shown to be in common use in that country. Again this generaly only applies to a specific trade category or group of categories and not to everything.

Plus in some countries, such as the UK, there is a further degree of protection offered by a law commonly known as "passing off". This prevents someone from using a mark, registered or not, if the intention is to imply that the product is "connected" to the product, or endorsed by, the company that the mark is commonly associated with. So if I used the mark on some software I might be "passing off" but if i used it on an mp3 player I would not be.

This whole area of trademark and copyright is a legal minefield and requires very expensive legal advice from lawyers who are expert in this field.

I cannot claim any of that expertise but I did conduct much research on this exact area several years ago whilst conducting negotiations with the Mambo clothing company to ascertain if Mambo the cms, could produce some t-shirts. In that instance Mambo the cms could not as it held a trademark for Mambo in the trade categories relating to software whilst the surfwear company held the trademark in the clothing categories.

Again this is a very expensive area. Is it really the best use of community donations to take action here?

# 8 - Posted by: Arno Zijlstra on 2008-11-26 07:34:01

Thanks Brian for the extra information.

I wonder what the story is behind this thing, did they like Amy said get it from a design firm that didn't do research very well or just thought "a what the .., lets change a color and go for it"

About taking steps, I dunno what is even possible for taking such steps in India but I guess OSM will at least get some information about this whole thing from people with more knowledge.

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