Logo Fight: Re/Max vs. Rehava

Posted by Alex in Crime & Law on March 10, 2009 at 2:56 pm


Do the two logos look similar to you? They do, according to the trademark attorneys of Re/Max, a national real estate franchise. They’re challenging the trademark application of a real estate startup Rehava, which has a new commission structure that is different than the established culture:

Adam Scoville, Re/Max’s legal counsel, said he can explain.

First of all, both names start with "r" and have logos with accent lines near the letter "e," he said.

"It goes beyond that," Scoville added. "If you chop the top off of the ‘h,’ you (almost) have the ‘m’ in Re/Max. The next letter is an ‘a,’ and if you take the ‘v’ then you have half of an ‘x.’ "

Steve deGuzman, Rehava’s broker-in-charge, said he doesn’t buy it. He said the trademark challenge is harassment and a form of corporate bullying that will cost his firm thousands of dollars.

"It’s a huge distraction, particularly for a startup and also in this kind of a market," deGuzman said.

He suspects the Colorado-based franchise is challenging the trademarkbecause of Rehava’s controversial commission rebates, which some in the industry see as a threat to traditional compensation standards.

Link – via reddit


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17 comments to "Logo Fight: Re/Max vs. Rehava"

  1. Chris
    March 10th, 2009 at 3:05 pm

    There needs to be serious penalties for companies like Remax who bring up these lawsuits. I'm surprised remax's lawyer didn't whine about them both containing vowels. That's a similarity too, right? COME ON.

  2. Alex
    March 10th, 2009 at 3:09 pm

    These are just objections to trademark request being filed, not a lawsuit. The US Patent and Trademark Office officer can still approve the trademark request, over the objection of the Re/Max attorney.

    I do agree with Rehava's suggestion that it's just harassment.

  3. Johnny Cat
    March 10th, 2009 at 3:43 pm

    "We don't want someone offering the same services with a confusingly similar mark," Scoville said. "We're happy to compete with them, we just don't want to do it with a trademark similar to Re/Max."

    I typically don't bash the competition, but this is typical Re/Max horse hockey! They are so full of hot air, it's no wonder they have a balloon as their logo.

  4. Gabriella
    March 10th, 2009 at 4:11 pm

    I love this "They are so full of hot air, it’s no wonder they have a balloon as their logo." Brilliant, and yes they should get kicked to the curb for even bringing this crap up. Sounds like it's more than the logo. I cannot imagine they would spend that sort of money for such a frivolous lawsuit.

  5. Dunn
    March 10th, 2009 at 4:45 pm

    "First of all, both names start with "r""

    Ha!! If I'm the judge I stop them right there, "Case closed!!!"

  6. Gauldar
    March 10th, 2009 at 5:12 pm

    Well, it makes perfect sense to spend money on legal crap like this with the currant state of the economy and housing crisis. Even big business needs to have fun somehow by kicking smaller ones around, and those starving lawyers need to feed their families/prostitutes/strippers too.

  7. d smith
    March 10th, 2009 at 5:33 pm

    bulllllllllll

  8. Gabriel
    March 10th, 2009 at 6:31 pm

    This is the stupidest thing I've seen this year.

  9. violet
    March 10th, 2009 at 6:48 pm

    "Confusingly similar"? Like how I sometimes mistake birds for doorknobs?

    Remax could put it another way: Our argument is that people are laughably stupid and can't read or see colors. For their premise to work, that's what they'd have to essentially mean.

  10. Michael0511
    March 10th, 2009 at 9:37 pm

    Re/Max goes onto my list of companies never to do business with!

    Think that's petty and lame?

    Look what I did to Circuit City!

    ;)

  11. chudez
    March 11th, 2009 at 3:16 am

    When engaging in argument or debate, people tend to present their most compelling rationale first. In this case, they start off with:

    "First of all, both names start with 'r'..."

    The quality of the arguments pretty much goes downhill from there. I'm surprised they didn't include in their explanation something like "Well, if you down 3 shots of tequila, spin yourself dizzy and cross your eyes, you'll see the similarity..."

  12. Ray
    March 11th, 2009 at 5:54 am

    A local knitting store - WoolMart - was badgered by guess-who into changing their name, even though they had it years before the whiners, IIR.

  13. Evilbeagle
    March 11th, 2009 at 9:53 am

    What a ridiculous lawsuit!

  14. Jan
    March 11th, 2009 at 10:25 am

    Their Typo-color is Black and if you drop down K and C of CMYK to 0% you´ve got M & Y 100% this is Red!

    ...who is the looser now?!

  15. Scooter
    March 11th, 2009 at 12:18 pm

    I like the argument "If you chop the top off of the ‘h,’ you (almost) have the ‘m’ in Re/Max."

    So what your saying is if you change their logo it makes it look like your logo.. yah, if I take all the letters and change them to other letters like magic it says something different. WOW, just wow.

  16. Al_d
    March 12th, 2009 at 4:48 pm

    "Plus, and I don't know if you noticed it your honor because they were pretty sneaky with this one, but their logo also uses letters from the Roman alphabet. Just like ours! Basically, this can all be settled if they switch over to Cyrillic, or better yet Chinese characters."

  17. Dee Wagstaff-Williams
    March 16th, 2009 at 5:57 pm

    Wait! Let me guess! This is a test for the next "Reality Show!" Right?

    Please allow me to encourage ALL to focus on the true business at hand. We should be consulting with buyers and sellers. Find ways to help those sellers out there who are hurting and scared. For many homeowners, right now there is panic,stress,and chaos on every hand. Use your money and time to do good and to do something that will have a positive impact on others.
    Show the public that we are a classy group of professionals vs. REALTORS Gone Wild!


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