Another day brings another logo court case. This week certainly feels like the world's copyright lawyers have come back from furlough ready for action. This time, it's Amazon under fire for an infringement – and it's a case that was supposed to be done and dusted already.
Home security company ADT is suing Amazon's smart home company Ring for creating a product that it says is too similar to its existing icon. And we have to say, we kinda see where ADT coming from. Maybe Amazon should have looked further afield for its logo design inspiration. Have a look below to make your own judgement.
ADT's logo (left) compared with Amazon's Ring (right) (Image credit: ADT/Amazon)
Let's run through the major design points shall we? Octagonal? Check. Blue? Check. White brand name in the centre? Check. Beyond the differences in the logos and type of blue used, there isn't much diversity here.
According to ADT's objection, Amazon's logo bears a "striking similarity" to its own, and Amazon is benefitting from what it says about its logo: "ADT's Famous Blue Octagon – an iconic trademark recognisable virtually anywhere in the United States – has been a symbol of ADT's dedication to its customers."
Can you see a similarity? (Image credit: ADT LLC vs RING LLC filing)
Amazon seemed to accept this comparison (see the two above, in situ) way back in 2016, when it agreed to tone down the blue in the Ring logo. But the blue hue has now returned on an outdoor siren, and the 12 trademarks ADT has over its mark are being cited in a court case.
Given Google has just bought a $450 million stake in ADT, this case feels like a clash of the tech titans. We look forward to finding out how Amazon responds to the claims.
Georgia is lucky enough to be Creative Bloq's Editor. She has been working for Creative Bloq since 2018, starting out as a freelancer writing about all things branding, design, art, tech and creativity – as well as sniffing out genuinely good deals on creative technology. Since becoming Editor, she has been managing the site and its long term strategy, helping to shape the diverse content streams CB is known for and leading the team in their own creativity.
