I'm pretty sure I've seen that somewhere else!

So what do you do when you notice someone is using ‘your' logo?

Panic? Get angry? Sue the company? Sue your designer?

First of all, I’d take a deep breath and assess the possible reasons why this may have happened before we start going off the deep end. Hopefully you’re reading this article because you’re about to create your own logo or you’re about to commission a professional to design a logo for you (preferable!).

There will be a few possible reasons why a ‘logo’ is being used by more than one company.

1.FREEBIES

Of course you can acquire free logos or icons that might do. There’s free icons that come with software, like Clipart and Powerpoint. There’s free icons from online websites like Axialis, Flaticon, Icons8 and Freepik where you might have to credit the platform. Free online logo and name generators like logaster, Canva, BrandCrowd, Flamingtext, DesignEvo, Freelogodesign (who's logo could be a lot better!)

So it would be very understandable, if you work in a particular market with a typical product or service, that you will be attracted by a certain type of icon or logo that represents your business offer. By the same token, so will the next person in a similar or exact line of business.

2.REALLY CHEAP SERVICES

There are other online platforms that will offer you incredibly cheap logos, starting from as low as a fiver. In fact they will offer to design 2 logos for that price. Even at minimum wage that’s 19 minutes to come up with an original logo! Similar to photo library platforms this ‘economies of scale’ model can only really work by selling the same thing many times. 

3.LACK OF DIVERGENT THINKING...

This is a whole other topic for another article but in essence, no matter how much a business wants ‘blue sky thinking’ and ‘thinking outside the box’ they tend to resort to what everyone else does. So most estate agents will have ‘house’ as a logo. Most heating engineers will have ‘half a red flame and half a blue drop’ as a logo. Most builders will have a ‘roof’ as a logo and so on. 

In conclusion, there are very familiar reasons why company logos are identical or extremely similar. Mostly down to the perception of cost and not understanding the value of originality. 

PROTECTING YOUR BRAND

Here’s my top 10 advantages for your business, if you spend a little more on an original logo and/or name:

1. Gives you a much stronger chance of getting it trademarked

2. Which Increases the value of your business when selling

3. And increases the value of your license when franchising

4. Protects it against other companies cashing in on your goodwill

5. Giving you the ability to ask said companies to ‘cease and desist’

6. Which stops their possible bad products/service reflecting on your business

7. Enables stronger buy-in from customers to your unique brand

8. Creates scarcity in the market, which allows for higher pricing

9. Allows easier flow into sub-branding opportunities

10. Which helps with future diversification of products and/or services

Yes of course I’m saying all that to get the opportunity to design more logos! And since you asked, yes! 100% of our logos that applied for a trademark got it!