OK, guys, it’s time for us to have that talk. Yes, that talk. You see, when a (wo)man really loves a logo, something special happens. Sometimes it’s pure and natural. Sometimes it’s sordid and delicious. But more often than not, it’s creation of a connection. The connection of ownership. We know this is a touchy subject when we start getting into intellectual properties and infringement of said properties so please bear with us here.
If you don’t feel like reading a lot of specifics, here’s the basic breakdown:
*Report possible copyright violations to us using the “Report This” links.
*DO NOT publicly accuse designers using comments. Report it to us or email the designer.
*If you are not satisfied with our handling of the matter, you may submit a DMCA Notfication form.
First and foremost, the best way for all of us to approach this is with vigilance, mutual respect and discretion. If you have a concern regarding a submitted design, whether it be suspected infringement or outright stealing of one of your designs, please contact us directly first. We will investigate the matter and take action from there. We can’t interpret potential copyright infringement until a suspected case is reported to us. And be sure that you do report it to us. Do not make public accusations through comments, as that constitutes defamation.
However, in cases where you just think a designer might not be aware of a similar design, you could probably just shoot them a polite email saying as much. We’d only recommend doing this if you are worried they might take offense to you reporting them to us.
An example might be: “Hey, Joe, I saw your new logo you posted and I just wanted to give you a heads up I’ve seen a similar design somewhere you might’ve missed in your research. I could be wrong, but here’s a link to it, let me know what you think.”
It’s all about being friendly and positive.
We reserve the right to take down designs which violate our terms of use or to suspend/terminate accounts at our discretion. continue reading
