The Netflix logo is at the centre of a David and Goliath tussle with a digital media company in the north of England which said it bears a striking resemblance to its own company branding.
The new Netflix logo, a ribbon pattern single letter N against a red background, was unveiled by the US video on demand giant on Monday.
Within hours of it appearing online, people were drawing comparisons with the logo used by Prolific North, an independently owned publishing company which launched three years ago.
Netflix, home to House of Cards and Orange is the New Black, has around 80 million subscribers worldwide, Prolific North a rather more modest 75,000 readers.
Looks like #Netflix were inspired by @ProlificNorth / @ProlificLive #SpotTheDifference 😉 pic.twitter.com/mgmJPmNSPt
— Parallax (@parallax) June 21, 2016
Prolific North publisher, Nick Jaspan, said his company was taking legal advice about the new Netflix logo after being made aware of it this week.
“Our little red logo is exceptionally well known in the north and we had dozens of readers getting in touch with us. To the layman they are exactly the same,” he told the Guardian.
“I don’t believe for one minute that they copied our logo, they wouldn’t be so crass to do that, but someone has come up with a good idea and it hasn’t come up on the image search.
“Out of decency they need to recognise that. It’s not my style [to do] this sort of thing but we have unwittingly found ourselves in a situation that commercially could become an issue.”
He added: “We are waiting for lawyers to advise us what we should do. We are not about going to enter into a legal battle but Netflix’s big red ‘N’ is going to become exceptionally well known, we may have a problem on our hands.
“We would like them to recognise we have a situation and to see how they can help us.”
The new Netflix branding is in addition to its familiar red on white Netflix logo which first appeared in 2014. The company has said the new icon would be incorporated into mobile apps and other product integrations in the near future.
Prolific North is being advised by media specialists at Bermans in Manchester.
Netflix declined to comment.
