🐈
» Forums » New to Upwork » Omgoodness. My "custom logo" was stolen
Page options
Michele's avatar
Michele R Community Member

Omgoodness. My "custom logo" was stolen

Watching episode 18 of blindspotting has MY logo on it!! I paid for a custom logo!!! And there it was on tv. She stole it!!
4 REPLIES 4
Preston's avatar
Preston H Community Member

Michele:

 

It is not clear to me what you mean.

 

Did the TV show "Blindspotting" use your logo without permission (and possibly provide you with high-profile free advertising)?

 

Or did a freelancer provide you with a logo that was obtained from somethere else?

 

Based purely on what you told us, I can't tell whether there is a problem or not.

 

Note I have had work I created show up on TV. And other freelancers have reported the same. It doesn't mean that we copied it from somewhere. It means that the TV show used what we created. Typically with permission from the copyright owners. Possibly without permission.

 

If your "logo" is the name of your company ("Michele's Custom Cookies"), rendered in red letters using the font "Palatino".... and you saw a logo on the TV show "Acme Plumbing Co.", similarly rendered in red letters using the font "Palatino"... Then there really is nothing to be done. One can not block other people from using the same combination of colors and fonts to create a logo.

 

If you hired a freelancer to create a custom logo for you and Blindspotting used that logo without permission, then you may have an issue with the TV show, but you could also just let it go.

 

If you hired a freelancer to provide you with a custom logo, and she just copied the exact logo from the Internet or something, and provided that to you, then I would say:

a) It sounds like you didn't do an image search on whatever the freelancer provided you with before you approved of and paid for the work.

b) You should not hire that same freelancer again. Her work appears to be sub-standard or fraudulent.

 

Obviously it would help us evaluate the situation if you could post a copy of the logo you received from the freelancer, and also post a screenshot of what you saw in the episode of "Blindspotting."

 

Also, tell us how much you paid for the work on Upwork, whether it was a fixed-price or hourly contract, and how long ago the work was done. There may be conditions under which you can receive a refund for the work.

Virginia's avatar
Virginia F Community Member


Michele R wrote:
Watching episode 18 of blindspotting has MY logo on it!! I paid for a custom logo!!! And there it was on tv. She stole it!!

As Preston states, a little more detail would help. But to start, put your logo into a Google reverse image search and see what comes up. This will tell you what your next move should be.

This widget could not be displayed.
This widget could not be displayed.
This widget could not be displayed.
This widget could not be displayed.
This widget could not be displayed.
This widget could not be displayed.
This widget could not be displayed.
This widget could not be displayed.
This widget could not be displayed.
This widget could not be displayed.
" alt="
This widget could not be displayed.
's avatar" class="community-forums-author-avatar"> >
This widget could not be displayed.
This widget could not be displayed.
This widget could not be displayed.
This widget could not be displayed.

It will depend on who paid the big bucks to register the trademark with the USPTO.

I'm gonna guess it wasn't the OP.

Here's the link to the database...
https://www.uspto.gov/trademarks-application-process/search-trademark-database
Preston's avatar
Preston H Community Member

The original poster is probably not aware of the difference between a logo, a "trademark", and a registered trademark.

Latest Articles
Featured Topics
Learning Paths