A newly-minted website is already having an impact. Logo Thief was conceived to display egregious examples of logo design infringement, and began publicizing examples in late November. Unlike many blogs which complain of copyright infringement, Logo Thief documents examples of logo infringement, providing links to the original creators’ websites and portfolios, as well as the posts by the infringing designers. The links are given in a list at the end of each article, forming a rough timeline of when the logo was original posted to the creator’s portfolio and when it appeared on the infringing website or materials. The LogoThief blog even shows overlaid examples of the original and infringing work — compelling evidence of outright copying.

In one case, a logo infringement showcased by Logo Thief came to a satisfying conclusion independently from the website. As reported in Steven Heller’s column, The Daily Heller, designer Felix Stockwell noticed that the new logo for one of his favorite eateries, Marie’s Cafe and Deli, was a direct ripoff of a logo created by Louise Fili, the renowned designer of many restaurant identities. Stockwell notified the restaurant’s owner, who was shocked and immediately removed the logo from their materials. As it turned out, the owner had purchased the logo for $25 from an offshore logo shop. Logo Thief reported on the positive development.

Other cases appearing on the LogoThief website have yet to be resolved in such a satisfying manner. In one case, a designer’s creation was copied from his LogoPond portfolio. Upon contacting the apparel company which reproduced a lightly altered version of his logo on their clothing, the company demanded proof of copyright ownership from the creator. Since then, the company modified the logo slightly, but the original structure is still clearly visible.