An American city has been criticised for adopting a logo similar to that of Dubai developer Emaar.
Amarillo, a city of 191,000 residents in northern Texas, unveiled its design as part of its 100th anniversary commemorations on November 9.
But the logo – white sun rays against an orange background above a blue panel bearing the city’s name and the phrase “open spaces, endless opportunities” – is virtually identical to Emaar’s sunshine branding.
Emaar, builder of the Burj Khalifa and Dubai Mall, registered its logo with the US patent office in 2006, according to the Associated Press.
"To avoid legal liability please ensure that you immediately ... cease using the logo of Emaar and ... withdraw all items bearing said logo," Emaar's legal director, Khaled Amin, wrote in a November 12 email obtained by the Amarillo Globe-News and posted on its website.
The city was infringing on intellectual property rights, he said.
Amarillo’s representatives tried to convince Emaar to allow the city to use the logo, as the emblems were similar, but different, they argued.
“Your sophisticated clients and potential clients are probably not likely to encounter the logo of our Texas municipality, or to confuse our city for that of your esteemed business,” Amarillo’s lawyer, Marcus Norris, wrote in an email, posted on the newspaper’s website.
“Therefore, I am writing to kindly ask for your acquiescence for the city of Amarillo to use its new logo.”
Emaar did not acquiesce, and the city has since abandoned its use of the branding, which it said on its website was designed by city staff.
“Two city departments researched the artwork to avoid duplication with any similar mark, and at the time did not find any similarities,” a statement on the city of Amarillo website said. “However, despite this due care, it has now been brought to our attention that our logo bears a clear resemblance to that of an overseas company. That was certainly not the intention and was not discovered until after the new logo was unveiled.”
The city, which reportedly spent just over US$25,000 (Dh91,825) printing the logo on various commemorative items, has since teamed up with the local newspaper and launched a contest to solicit designs for a new logo.
“Perhaps, in some small way, this might foster a new relationship between Dubai and Amarillo that was unforeseen before now,” said Mr Norris.
