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Legal ramifications of ripping off a design


O_Town_Clown

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A few years ago, a new pizzeria opened up in Orlando called "Sopranos". The logo used on the front of the restaurant was the Sopranos TV show logo exactly, including even the gun for an "r". A few months after opening, I noticed that they changed the gun to a pizza cutter. I always assumed this was because of the threat of a lawsuit from HBO.

Fast forward to today, and I find a business card on my windshield for a Sushi Restaurant called "Ogami".

Here is the logo: 3234278731_141ff8b953_o.jpg

Any fan of Manga (or comic books in general) will recognize the characters depicted as "Lone Wolf and Cub". I'm curious to know what, if any, are the possible legal ramifications of using this character in their advertising? And how would the company who owns the character find out about its use in the first place?

EDIT: I'm not crusading throughout Orlando looking for logo violations. It's just something I was wondering about.

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A few years ago, a new pizzeria opened up in Orlando called "Sopranos". The logo used on the front of the restaurant was the Sopranos TV show logo exactly, including even the gun for an "r". A few months after opening, I noticed that they changed the gun to a pizza cutter. I always assumed this was because of the threat of a lawsuit from HBO.

Fast forward to today, and I find a business card on my windshield for a Sushi Restaurant called "Ogami".

Here is the logo: 3234278731_141ff8b953_o.jpg

Any fan of Manga (or comic books in general) will recognize the characters depicted as "Lone Wolf and Cub". I'm curious to know what, if any, are the possible legal ramifications of using this character in their advertising? And how would the company who owns the character find out about its use in the first place?

EDIT: I'm not crusading throughout Orlando looking for logo violations. It's just something I was wondering about.

Everyone has enemies. That, or there are those that feel strongly about respecting copyrights. In any case, someone in the public will notify the owners.

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"One of my concerns is shysters show up and take advantage of people's good will and generosity".

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I wouldn't be surprised if the owners are Chinese, like 95% of all Japanese restaurants in Toronto are. And if that is the case, they will somehow find enough "differences" in the logo to dismiss any accusations. Chinese people are geniuses at knockoffs.

And I'm not being racist, I'm Chinese myself. :)

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  • 2 weeks later...

I'd notify them, if I knew who to call - I'm one of those who care about intellectual theft. Can't believe that people think this is okay.

What the ramifications are? A cease & desist letter from the owner would probably put an end to it, lots of threats but no actual punishment other than the cost of replacing everything on which the stolen graphic appears.

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