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An Australian designer has accused Port Adelaide Football Club of copying a design he posted online four years ago for its new logo.
Key points
- Designer Dean Robinson claims Port Adelaide copied his designs when coming up with the club's new logo
- The logo will be used next year to commemorate the club's 150th anniversary
- The club says the logo was "two years in the making"
The club unveiled its new logo, commemorating its 150th anniversary, on Sunday in front of more than 2,000 Port Adelaide members.
Port Adelaide chairman David Koch said the club had undertaken a "thorough, collaborative process in selecting the new logo".
"This historic logo for our 150th anniversary has been two years in the making," Mr Koch said.
"We undertook an exhaustive, consultative approach engaging several agencies, focus groups, former players and administrators and current players in reaching this outcome.
"We believe we have identified a logo that presents an image of strength that is a statement of Port Adelaide's past, present and future."
However, in a lengthy series of tweets, designer Dean Robinson accused the club of copying a logo he posted in an online design forum in August 2015, saying: "Love the new logo @PAFC, where do I send the invoice?"
"They reckon they worked with AFL media on this logo for two years. I reckon they did a bit of a google and found my logo from four years ago on a design forum," he said.
He said while it was "entirely possible" that the club and the AFL worked on the logo for two years "and came up with something that is 90 per cent identical to the concept I designed in 45 minutes four years ago", he said it seemed "unlikely".
"But. If the club and the AFL worked together on this for two years as they suggest, surely at some point someone would have googled for ideas or to simply see what was out there to make sure they weren't infringing on other clubs let alone on random concepts."
Designer says he is 'not mad … just disappointed'
Mr Robinson said he could not find the Port Adelaide monogram in the Australian trademark database.
"Make of that what you will," he said.
He said both Melbourne Football Club and Carlton's monograms were and while he posted the concept "for fun" and not for commercial purposes, he was disappointed not to receive any acknowledgement.
"In the end it has become increasingly difficult to come up with completely unique ideas. And that's fine, to a point. Small local clubs 'knock off' team logos all the time, but this is a professional club in a national league," he wrote.
"Just, at the very least, give credit where it's due. I'm not mad, I'm not even particularly surprised, I'm just disappointed."
On Sunday, Mr Koch said the new logo combined four key elements — the "PA" representing Port Adelaide, the "1870" to acknowledge the year the club formed, the black and white bars honouring the guernsey the club has worn in the SANFL since 1902 and the teal the club has worn since joining the AFL.
"We wanted to reinforce the interlocking of the P and the A representing how our community and our people have always been so strongly connected and will never be torn apart," he said.
"The beauty of Port Adelaide's unparalleled success is the strength of an unbreakable bond both on and off the field.
"This logo is for our people and we want there to be a representation of their commitment to the club across so many years."
The ABC has contacted Port Adelaide for comment.
Topics: sport, australian-football-league, design, graphic, adelaide-5000, port-adelaide-5015, sa, australia
First posted