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Wonder if Telecom will have a legal issue

by Whaleoil on October 17, 2009

teelcom_300x200Telecom has released its new logo. I wonder though whether they did enough due diligence on the logo design because as soon as I saw it I thought Asterisk might have something to say about it.

Now of course it could signify that Telecom has done a deal to deploy open source software throughout their exchanges, but I seriously doubt that.

Plus just to get the lawyers crapping their pants, Asterisk makes VOIP solutions.

Then there is Asterisk Entertainment that might get upset as well though they aren’t Asterisk logoin the Telecoms industry but the logo is strikingly similar.

Then there is Asterisk, the US company that makes knee pad systems for action sports. They use the Asterisk device as well.

All in all it looks like a massive own goal for Telecom and their design team as well as their legal advisors.

Asterisk EntertainmentThe biggest risk i would think would come from the VOIP supplier. It will be interesting to see where this ends up. What would also be interesting is the amount of money that Telecom has spent so far on the logo development and now on the rollout of the logo across their retail and corporate network.

Like the Auckland City Council fiasco with their logo I predict there will be some money changing hands somewhere in this. It would be good just from a synergy point of view if Telecom made a donation Asterisk.org, after all it involves telephony. This is my preferred option if Telecom has to pay money being a big supporter of open source software.

Asterisk_1255738243496Not a an auspicious launch I must say.

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  • http://twitter.com/amiemccarron @amiemccarron

    Had not heard of those companies you have mentioned but as soon as I saw the logo I thought of The New Dowse http://www.dowse.org.nz/

  • Dimmocrazy

    Good work Whale, wondering whether Telecom's no doubt multi million dollar PR/Legal staff couldn't work that out.
    PS While you're at it, check out GEON print and communication solutions, they specialize in services for lawyers I believe, and have copied your own logo. (Assuming you will have checked yours before using it).

  • Guest

    The fact that the an asterisk is a symbol in everyday use around the world means it is not a distinctive brand device, and therefore any company would struggle to defend it against competitive types of symbols. Also the fact that there is more than one company with the same device, means they are allowed to co-exist. All in all it is NOT distinctive, and therefore is hard to protect, and similarly hard for the other companies using the asterisk to protect there logo.

  • Guest

    Sorry…my mistake in the last sentence – should be "their" logo.

  • Adolf Fiinkensein

    Guest, I think you are right. Different story if one of the others was a telecoms company though.

  • mediatart

    Notice to they have moved to lower case, to be more hip I imagine.
    Reminds me of BP who went from capital letters and a shield to lower case and a flower.!!!
    Will Whale be next ? from an ORCA to an octopus.
    jellyfish is allready taken by dpf

  • mort

    it looks like a puckered anus

    • http://intensedebate.com/people/thor42 thor42

      Yeah, that's exactly what I was thinking too ….. :)

  • http://intensedebate.com/people/The_Grizz The_Grizz

    Telecom certainly should be sued for stealing intellectual property. They just ripped that scribble off a drawing my 5 year old niece made 2 years ago!

  • http://www.threechairs.co.nz peter

    I actually quite like it, but there's been very little said/written about what it cost to get this thing developed. That's what will be really scary.

  • Guest

    The brand name is the real issue about what is so bad about this wasteful spending on a new visual identity.

    At a basic level – Telecom and Asterisk are VERY different words, so there can be NO confusion or similarity which is what trademark law is based upon.

    However, the most critical thing when it comes to good branding is to have a distinctive brand name. Here Telecom has FAILED badly.

    "Telecom" is a LOUSY brand name. It's the generic descriptor for the industry they're in. In fact Telecom as a brand name is as bad as it gets. For this reason Telecom would struggle to protect themselves against another operator in the NZ market incorporating the name Telecom.

  • Guest

    An excellent example of a distinctive brand is ZESPRI. Previously they used Kiwifruit – also a generic descriptor, where NZ promotions of the category benefited all growers of kiwifruit worldwide. By developing ZESPRI the NZ growers could reap the rewards for themselves and profit accordingly. The same scenario applies to the excellent brand name Fonterra, and why the use of NZ Milk Products was a lousy brand, as the French eg Danone could have come into NZ and exported using the generic words NZ Milk and no one could stop them.

    In both cases ZEPSRI and Fonterra are simple, distinctive, easy to pronounce, two (or three) syllables, and free from clutter (similar looking/sounding names) – some critical factors for a successful brand.

    If Telecom was serious about branding they should have ditched the descriptor word Telecom and come up with a new distinctive brand name.

  • Guest

    However, the Telecom board is obviously ignorant about branding issues, and has gotten caught up in the excitement of a new visual identity. As they’ve brought into some bullshit from a design company, who clearly also know nothing about strategic branding as they’ve completely overlooked Telecoms lack of distinctive, non-generic brand name, and insisted that all Telecom needs is a more contemporary look. A look that I’d estimate would cost Telecom somewhere in the vicinity of $10M to rollout the new brand – signage, stationery, vehicles, marketing collateral, stores, products, websites, packaging, metal pavement plates and on and on it goes.

    The board should never have agreed to this spend, as they’ve failed to address how specifically this spend is creating wealth in terms of intellectual property and goodwill for the business and shareholder. Developing a new identity, using an industry descriptor, does not generate wealth, and therefore is a waste of money. I’m sure the shareholders would much prefer a dividend than wasteful spending.

    If Telecom wants to do the job properly and create wealth – change the name from a generic and then set about with your new visual identity

    Bronwyn

    • mediatart

      Telecom all ready have , theres 'Chorus' ,theres Okra (I think). Maybe they want to do the logo first.
      Much better than what British Telecom who became……..BT

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  • Christopher

    Hi guys,

    From my I-have-a-law-degree-but-am-not-a-practising-lawyer point of view, I would say that Telecom is pretty much in the clear. The design is quite distinct from the others displayed, and I would be extremely surprised if they are violating anybody's Trademark, or anyone's Copyright in the image itself.

    I've studied (in an academic context) IP law relatively extensively, and I've advised a hockey club, two IT startups and a web development company on their IP issues, so I have a tiny bit of experience. Again, I'm not a practising lawyer, but I can't see this being an issue for telecom.

    Chris out.

  • DONKEY

    i bet they checked with not a soul! dont forget when they started ferrit, that was a porn site in the US so they had to pay up for that one – good research guys!

  • http://kingsbeer.com Jayson Kingsbeer

    Asterisk the open source VOIP company was bought out by Gen-i and then Telecom bought out Gen-i so Telecom now owns Asterisk so I dont think there will be any risk of legal action :-) (Source: http://www.gen-icomms.co.nz/profile.html)