That client who tried to claim my logo design was 'inspired by public domain'

I had a client last year for a local bakery in Austin who straight up told me they didn't need to pay for my logo because it was close enough to a public domain image they found online. They sent me a screenshot of some generic flour sack graphic from 1920 and said my work was basically a copy. I had to sit down and trace out the 14 hours I spent sketching custom flourishes and lettering that matched their brand name exactly. Pulled up my original vector files with timestamps and compared them side by side to that old image. Not a single curve matched. I forwarded them a formal invoice plus a late fee and told them I'd file a DMCA takedown on their website if they didn't pay within 7 days. They folded after 3 days and paid the full $800. Has anyone else had to fight a client who tried to use the public domain excuse to get out of paying?

3 comments

3 Comments

vera_green695d ago

A friend of mine had this happen with a handmade jewelry seller who claimed her logo was too similar to a free clipart rose. She spent two weeks emailing back and forth with them, showing the original sketches and explaining the color theory choices she made. They finally paid half of the agreed price, but she dropped them as a client after that mess.

perry.jesse5d ago

Oh man, that's so frustrating! She basically had to prove her own work was legit just because someone got weird about a rose, and they still tried to short her. Good on her for dropping them though, clients like that always find something to nitpick no matter what.

river_thompson5d ago

I had a similar thing happen with a mural commission back in 2018. A coffee shop in Portland tried to say my handpainted rooster design was just a copy of a vintage postcard from 1952. I had to pull up the 47 reference photos I took of actual chickens at a farm in Oregon and show them the different beak angles and feather patterns. They finally paid after I threatened to remove the paint myself with a pressure washer.