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I got two emails about this logo today.

Anyone see anything familiar?

I'm livid.

Ooh, that's not cool

NO WAY!!!
That is SOO wrong!

I mean really... am I being out of line here? If you're going to freaking copy... at least change the damn color scheme!

Nah, you're not overreacting but at the same time things like this are becoming so common you have just stay 3 steps ahead of folks. Time to re-invent and keep moving forward.

Sorry this is going on. It really does blow that whomever it is, is totally banking on your image.

so because it's common i should have to keep reinventing our branding?

I think you said it best "banking on our image." we worked too hard on it for someone else to make it theirs.

AAHHHH I would be fuming mad! What are you going to do? You've got to do something right???!

i sent an email to her... "your logo... is cute..."

yeah yeah yeah... i know... i'm very scary.

I kind of don't know what to do.

Hmmm... well no you shouldn't have to reinvent because of this but rather for your own growth but the more well known you become ... well, the more copycats will you attract. Successful people are very often emulated (read: copied)

Yes it blows but aside from legal action or strongly worded letters the only thing left is to leave copycats in the dust. Face it you two are freakin' fab and any new photog would be crazy not to want a shred of your talent but for all the copying they may do they can't do what y'all do. So, chin up and keep on keepin' on.

Hahahha.... yeah...umm I don't even know what I would do if I were you! I'm wondering what she will reply with. "why...thank you..."

She may not even know - there've been a couple of cases (posted about on other forums) where logo designers have been copying logos for who knows how long - I'd at least talk to whoever it is and see if they knew and if they designed it themself. Totally does suck though You guys have very distinctive branding.

Oooh +1

Melody... I've seen hits coming in from their old blog for months... she had me listed under her blogroll. Then she got this new branding, new logo and new blog... and got rid of her blogroll, so I hadn't seen the site again until today. So, I know for a fact that she's seen ours.

Well, that bites the big one then

I hope she changes it - but, if not, we all know you came first ;)

You should email her a little graphic of a donkey + camera = her little graphic logo head. Or a copy machine + a cat = her little logo head ;)

People just suck these days I'm sorry.

melody, you make me smile.

I'd do it, seriously... every day till she gets the picture.

donkey + hole = logo head
steve martin (from the Jerk) + a face = logo head
copy machine + cat = logo head
someone screaming (pain) + a butt = logo head
witch + broom = logo head


If nothing else you'll at leas feel better and amuse yourself in the process

Where do you come up with this stuff!! I love it.

Bobbi... I am soo sorry. How frustrating for you guys!!

I remember worrying about my chicken getting copied (she IS a cute chicken) and I was told that I can trade mark it for big $ or chance it. Maybe you could TM it? That might not work if it's a slight veriation.

Why not post who it is and we'll bombard them with comments explaining how uncool they are. They'll get the .

yah, she probably saw your logo, then hired someone to make something similar. that's really sad though (and stupid).

that so sucks!!! she may have a look a like logo, but she certainly doesn't kick as much ass as you!!! that logo is as close as she'll ever get to being as awesome as you bobbi girl!!! chin up luva luva and rock.it.out like i know you can!!

Did you register your logo as a trade mark? if so then I would send her an email stating that she is breaking trade laws using it, if not then the best you can hope for is that this person had a sense of guilt and takes it down.
If you are working all of your branding and image with this logo then I suggest getting it registered as soon as possible and then adding the little TM to it. If she really starts to impact on your business then take her to court if she won't stop using it.

I've had trouble recently with a competitor using the same font that I was, I've changed it now as I didn't really like it anyway, it wasn't part of my branding so I didn't mind but if I had paid for it then I would've had it registered.

you know you are big time when you get copied like that. (you go girl!) LOL

Hi Bobbi!
i just read about this on twitter. I am so sorry this is happening to you! I love Melody's idea!
I also agree that you should post her blog here and let us send her some bad mojo!! lol!
Candy

aaargh that makes me so mad FOR YOU; no freakin' way. who can i scream at?
this is so blatant how can she not be completely embarrassed to show her face?

know that icky haunting feeling...am i really good enough to do THIS for a living?
am i original enough?
creative enough?

my guess is, well, she's NOT.

I'm bummed because her 'Mikey' isn't as cute

SHE TURNED MIKEY INTO A CAMERA!!!!!!!

TRADEMARK!

Lesson Learned from the googus we've got here in indy that keeps using everyone's name as a google ad word. He response when confronted was: "Well... it's not trademarked!"

do i have a legitimate trademark argument?

Have you registered it?

i did last night

Ah man Bobbi...this really sucks! I'm sorry you've got someone infringing on your design. Where is this photographer based out of? Is she in the Midwest too? Either way, as others have said, WE KNOW THE REAL BOBBI+MIKE!

The you could do it the long hard way (file a complaint) or the quick way...... unleash the fury of OSP on her. You might want to warn her first before we all send her send her 5mb photos through email, one at a time.

Or Bobbi could take advantage of this little company - created by a BSU grad: http://pooyou.com/

(and no, I PROMISE I'm not Rick Rollin' ya guys!)

OMG! I Love it!! Do it Bobbi, Do it!!!
C

Bobbi,

That's awful! I just hired someone to give me a new logo. It's sad when others feel they can just steal what others have worked so hard to create.

So wrong.

I could never do that. But wow to that originality!

Commercialized Worm Poo


Yet another stellar idea from Ball State University...

Right up there with such luminaries as:

David Letterman,
Joyce DeWitte,
Garfield the cat and
some doofus named Troy.

...a lesson learned... TRADEMARK YOUR LOGO!!!!!

It will be interesting to see how this turns out as we will all learn a lot. But, to me, the logo seem different enough to not cause confusion.

Not cool Bobbi, You should just be out front with her and tell her your thoughts that you think the icons are just too similar.

hope it gets resolved.

NO WAY!

John looked at it and it took him a second to get what I was showing him. He said, "So that's not bobbi's design?" So duh, it's blatant. Not like we needed any more proof.

I'm just so sad that you have to dick around with crap like this. You don't have time for this! I feel for you girl.

Melody, your ideas are hilarious.

I'm just sad that people may see that logo and think, "Ooooh, it's B + M's style, but for half the cost. Yippee!" (I'm assuming she's chaper.)

BTW, when I was putting my new blog together I found a background that I loved and then I was like, "Wait, it's Orange. Bobbi has orange!" Jeez, I can't believe she didn't even change the color. It must really suck to be her and have NO originality!!!!

Keep us posted. She will SH** her pants when she gets your email. If she even gets your subtle hint.

Do we get to see this chick's blog?

Oh man this sucks! I'm sorry that this has happened to you guys. But your logo is still way better!!!

Not cool! When i first clicked on the post I was thinking it probably wasn't a photographer i was familiar with anyways and wouldn't recognize it. But before I even saw that it was you bobbi posting. I was thinkin Oh Hell NO!
Your logo is AWESOME and very well known why on earth would she take it.
And she replaced Mikey, that is just sad!

This makes me mad, i can't imagine how you are feeling!

As said previously, they can only take your logo, not your talent!

Time to consult a lawyer. It is called trademark infringement.

If you are a PPA member you can contact them for guidance.

That is why is so important when you start any business to have a lawyer help through the process. You should have copyrighted your logo. And register your trademark. That would make it a lot easier in situations like this. You still can and is not expensive either.

Right now I have a designer working on mine and as soon as it is done I am heading to register it as a trade mark.

My friend Heather Cole found THIS on the copycats blog,

"I'm a blog stalker. And I right-click. Why? When I find something inspiring, different, unusual, or just plain neat, I right-click it to an 'inspiration' folder on my desktop. Then, when I'm lacking photographic vision or stimulation, I look through the folder. And I encourage you to do the same. Find the perfect coffee table? Right-click. The ultimate gift for Grandma? Grab it. Just *don't* print it, *don't* use it for commercial purposes, and *don't* prevent the photographer/company/artist/individual from making a living with it."

WOW!

I think it is essential that the imagery on one's blog is their own.

Yeah, that was easy to google, guess she didn't copy that part.

LOL! Melody, you beat me to it.

Am I a bad girl... www. e s s e n t i a l i m a g e r y .com?

EDIT: Awe dang, Mel beat me too Oh wait, I'm a dingdong and didn't catch Jim's sleuthness

so much for not telling you who she is.