The Warmoth Logo Design Challenge

[JaySwear]

i don't know how many responses i'll get for this, BUT

i'm collecting up parts for a new warmoth hair-metal-o-caster. it'll most likely have a KWS headstock. i've seen a couple really cool warmoth logos (i believe from dangerous and max) and i'd like to see if anybody else has some cool mock-ups. i'd like it to mimic a Kramer-style logo, but if it looks cool then it looks cool :icon_biggrin:

i'll be sending off the best design to a guy to have him make me a nice logo to put on my guitar. the guitar probably won't be made until late this year, but i figure it's never too early to start making small decisions on it (like a headstock logo!)

hope i get a few responses. i guess the only rules would be 1. it has to say "warmoth" on it and 2. you are the original designer or the logo. i don't want anybody getting upset if something they made a while back pops up from somebody else (unless you credit them with the design, in which case i don't see why it would matter who posts it)

 

[DangerousR6]

 

[Cagey]

I wouldn't mess with Warmoth's logo. That's their identity. It would be like changing Chrysler's or Kodak's or Pepsi's logo. I'm not sure it's even legal, but it's certainly cheeky. Imagine if somebody came along and said "I think you need plastic surgery. Your face doesn't suit me."

That said, they don't put their logo on the headstock, so they must not care too much what you put up there. But, I would think if you want to use their name, they'd want you to present it the way they've defined it. I don't know. Might be worth calling them. I doubt they'd go to the expense to hunt you down and sue you, but litigation has certainly happened for less and with less justification.

 

[Patrick]

its only illegal if there is monentary gain

 

[DesmoDog]

I think people are getting a little carried away with how sacred logos are.

Does anyone honestly think Warmoth would, or even could, go after someone for putting "Warmoth" on a Warmoth product?

Please.

"Your honor, we would like to seek damages because he put 'Warmoth' on our product but didn't use the same font as us. He didn't reproduce our logo correctly"

Son, do you have anything to say for yourself?

"Yes your honor. It's obviously not their logo, it's just their name."

Son, did you spell it correctly?

"Um, I think so?"

Close enough. Case dismissed.



Seriously, think about it. What's could possibly be illegal about it?  He can carve their name into it with a screwdriver and sell it to whoever he wants and they can't do jack about it. And why would they want to? It's not their logo. It is their name, It's their part. Where's the problem?

 

[line6man]

I think people are getting a little carried away with how sacred logos are.

Does anyone honestly think Warmoth would, or even could, go after someone for putting "Warmoth" on a Warmoth product?

Please.

"Your honor, we would like to seek damages because he put 'Warmoth' on our product but didn't use the same font as us. He didn't reproduce our logo correctly"

Son, do yo uhave anything to say for yourself?

"Yes your honor. It's obviously not their logo, it's just their name."

Son, did you spell it correctly?

"Um, I think so?"

Close enough. Case dismissed.



Seriously, think about it. He can carve their name into it with a screwdriver and sell it to whoever he wants and they can't do jack about it. And why would they want to? It's not their logo. It is their name, It's their part. Where's the problem?

I'm suing you for emotional distress.
That was blasphemy. You came here and insulted the sacredness of the headstock logo, and the resultant fit of rage led me to be institutionalized for a day.
We can leave the court system out of this for the right price. Some Warmoth gift certificates will do.
  :icon_jokercolor:

 

[DangerousR6]

I think people are getting a little carried away with how sacred logos are.

Does anyone honestly think Warmoth would, or even could, go after someone for putting "Warmoth" on a Warmoth product?

Please.

"Your honor, we would like to seek damages because he put 'Warmoth' on our product but didn't use the same font as us. He didn't reproduce our logo correctly"

Son, do you have anything to say for yourself?

"Yes your honor. It's obviously not their logo, it's just their name."

Son, did you spell it correctly?

"Um, I think so?"

Close enough. Case dismissed.



Seriously, think about it. What's could possibly be illegal about it?  He can carve their name into it with a screwdriver and sell it to whoever he wants and they can't do jack about it. And why would they want to? It's not their logo. It is their name, It's their part. Where's the problem?

Agreed, it's still the correct name regaurdless of the font....

 

[Cagey]

I think people are getting a little carried away with how sacred logos are.

People aren't, but corporations are. IP (Intellectual Property) is hot, Hot, HOT on the tort circuit these days. There are billions of dollars at stake. Dozens of lawsuits are filed daily over it. And when it comes to logos and trademarks, if you don't defend them you can lose them. Their ownership isn't etched in stone like copyrights and patents are for their defined terms.

 

[line6man]

I wouldn't mess with Warmoth's logo. That's their identity. It would be like changing Chrysler's or Kodak's or Pepsi's logo. I'm not sure it's even legal, but it's certainly cheeky. Imagine if somebody came along and said "I think you need plastic surgery. Your face doesn't suit me."

That said, they don't put their logo on the headstock, so they must not care too much what you put up there. But, I would think if you want to use their name, they'd want you to present it the way they've defined it. I don't know. Might be worth calling them. I doubt they'd go to the expense to hunt you down and sue you, but litigation has certainly happened for less and with less justification.

Look at Fender's headstock logos. They all say Fender, but the design changes from year to year.
A lot of companies update their logos every so often. I don't see what the problem is.

Warmoth's logo is not iconic like Pepsi or the McDonalds arches or whatever. If you just put a turtle on your headstock, most people probably wouldn't know it was a Warmoth.

 

[Cagey]

Companies can play with their logos because they're their logos. They own them. Nobody else is allowed, unless the company either explicitly or tacitly through non-defense allows it. Whether they'll take action against somebody who messes with it is up to them, but if they don't defend it, they can lose exclusive rights to it and it essentially falls into the public domain. At least, that's the way the law works. Real life may be different, depending on the situation. For instance, it's tough to prosecute someone who has nothing to lose. There's are also commercial considerations, as well as the degree of concern about a corporate image. Size doesn't really matter - Warmoth could choose to be much more litigious than Ford Motor Company, or not care at all. That's why I said earlier that it might be worth a call. Mr. Warmoth could be hyper-sensitive about such things and be ready to go nuclear at the drop of a hat, or he may not give a damn one way or another.

 

[JaySwear]

thanks for the logos, dangerous! i really REALLY like that first one.

i'll call warmoth tomorrow just to settle the debate. i doubt they'll have an issue with my putting their own name on it (since a lot of people put a different company's logo on them all the time) but it's worth an ask. i've got a couple other questions for them anyway. plus i'm pretty sure it would be legal anyway. from what i understand it's when a seller falsely claims a warmoth neck to be a fender neck and calls the logo "proof." or really when a seller knowingly claims anything to be something other than what it is, and especially with another company's logo with proof. like a MIK squier with a USA fender neck on it which was advertised as a USA made guitar

and wouldn't warmoth be more upset about somebody putting their own custom logo (a last or first name) than somebody putting "warmoth" on their warmoth neck? i just feel like a company would have a bigger problem with somebody making a product their own, rather than claiming it to be what it really is. even if they're claiming it to be what it really is in a unique and non-pre-determined sort of way. anyway i'm rambling, and i really do not know any of the laws on the subject so i better stop here.

 

[JaySwear]

called today and long-story-short they declined to comment. any other images? i'm thinking it would be really cool to add a black star (since the logo will be black) on the very tip of the headstock. kind of a 5150 tribute.

 

[Cagey]

Sounds like tacit permission to do whatever you'd like.