5 heated design disputes that shook the internet

Logo design disputes crop up almost every day – some more understandable than others. Whether it's an accidental appropriation or a dangerously 'coincidental' copycat, these design duplicates seldom go unnoticed, resulting in heated brand beef (and sometimes, serious legal action).

When the time comes to design a logo, originality is key – not just to avoid any unwanted design disputes, but also to carve out your own unique brand identity. There's a big difference between inspiration and outright copy and paste cases (as you'll see below), but whether you're a big brand or a small startup, let these logo design dispute examples be a cautionary tale of what not to do.

01. Meghan Markle vs The Town of Porreres

Meghan Markle has been caught up in several design disputes since launching her personal brand, being forced to go back to the drawing board after her original name, American Riviera Orchard, was subject to a logo trademark rejection. The Duchess later returned with a new brand name, As Ever, but was soon met with an unexpected design dispute with an unlikely opposition – the Spanish town of Porreres.

The small Mallorcan town was quick to call out As Ever's coat of arms logo design, pointing to the similarities in structure and theme, particularly the composition of the central palm tree and swooping birds. Despite the town's mayor claiming the Duchess had "perverted" the town's identity, stating it "belongs exclusively to Porreres", no legal action was taken due to financial constraints.

02. Apple vs Prepear

Sometimes a design dispute crops up that truly perplexes me – this Apple logo controversy included. In 2020, Apple targeted this small business for its pear-themed logo, claiming that it "readily calls to mind Apple’s famous Apple Logo and creates a similar commercial impression."

While typically I try to see both sides of the story, Apple's bold claims against the meal planning app were tough to swallow given the distinct difference in logo colour, composition, and (obviously) fruit theme. Despite the bold claims, Prepear settled with the tech company by agreeing to slightly alter its logo to avoid causing a "dilution of the distinctiveness."

03. X vs Multiply

Elon Musk's X logo has been subject to a number of design disputes (unsurprising for a generic logo modelled after the mathematical double-struck capital X Unicode character). One such case was Musk's logo dispute with Virginia-based PR firm, Multiply.

The company claimed it "had no choice" but to defend its mark and "fight Twitter [X] in court" after it "shamelessly stole" its identity. Multiply claimed it had been using its X logo since 2019 and had been subject to consumer confusion since Musk's logo debut. In response, Multiply filed for unspecified monetary damages and called for the court to ban X from using its logo.

04. Kanye vs Walmart

In 2021, Walmart ignited some brand beef with Kanye West's brand Yeezy after the brand debuted a sun-shaped logo design. Despite Yeezy's 8-line design comprising 24 circles, Walmart claimed its 6-line design was being infringed upon, with the risk of "confusion" and a "false suggestion of a connection."

With typical Kanye attitude, Yeezy responded to the claim, stating, "Walmart certainly knows, as does the consuming public, that the last thing [Yeezy] wants to do is associate itself with [Walmart].” The opposing brands eventually settled the dispute for an undisclosed amount.

05. Starbucks vs Starbuds Flowers

Starbucks entered an unexpected logo battle with New York-based marijuana retailer Starbuds Flowers. According to Starbucks' legal claim, the Starbuds logo infringes upon a number of its intellectual properties, such as the double-ringed green circle, crowned siren design and capitalised logo font.

Starbucks claimed the designs could lead to consumer confusion, and that the similarities “clearly" trade on "recognition of the extensive consumer recognition of Starbucks.” The global coffee chain called for Starbuds to remove its similar logo from its converted food truck van and destroy the branding from all existing products, alongside asking it to hand over any profits it has garnered since using the alleged copycat logo design.