More Women's Masthead Mayhem

The second story about women's magazine mastheads this week:

Spot the difference between these two magazine covers:




On the face of it, they appear different (in as much as any women's magazine cover looks different) but the similarity between the masthead design led the publishers of 'Red' to take the publishers of 'Real' to court. the case was settled before it came to trial, which is a shame as it means there'll be no case law to add to that already in existence through previous 'passing off' cases. (An explanation of why 'passing off' remains a civil matter in the UK is provided here).

I have to admit I was confused by these covers, assuming some link or mixing them up, although that's just in passing, but the legal test is whether any ordinary person would make a connection so I think that counts and is probably why the offenders gave in.




But the story doesn't end there. Condé Nast, the publishers of Vogue have warned The Mail on Sunday that the typeface used for 'You' magazine, which has just gone from being a supplement to a paid-for news-stand title, is likely to cause confusion in the mind of consumers. The issue here, I think, is not that people will think 'You' is 'Vogue' but may think it is in some way associated with it (this is the issue that caused Apple Corp's action against Apple Computer to fail, I think - no one in their right mind thinks iTunes is anything to do with the Beatles).




Let this be a lesson to you: imitation is not flattering.

 
Real magazine will be forced to completely redesign its masthead after agreeing an 11th hour legal settlement to a copyright action brought by rival title Red.
Red, owned by Hachette Filipacchi UK, which also publishes Elle and Psychologies, took legal action against Real magazine for copyright and intellectual property infringement.

Both magazines have mastheads that feature a capital letter R in a cursive font on a red background.

The action was due to be heard in court today, but Real settled late on Friday, agreeing to redesign its logo within 12 weeks and pay Hachette's costs.

Hachette Filipacchi UK, which was represented by the firm M Law, took legal action against Burda, the German group that acquired Real when it bought UK company Essential Publishing last month.

Real was originally owned by German publisher Bauer, which redesigned the title before selling to Essential. Burda was represented by Marriott Harrison.

"I am thrilled that Hachette has finally reached settlement at the 11th hour, literally before going to trial. I wish new owner Burda every success with the rebranded title when they relaunch it," said Kevin Hand, the chairman of Hachette Filipacchi UK.

Red magazine, aimed at women in their 30s, for which it coined the term "middle youth", was originally a 50-50 joint venture between Hachette Filipacchi and Emap.

When Hachette Filipacchi set up in Britain in 2002, the two companies held an auction for the sole rights to the magazine. Hachette Filipacchi UK won, paying £34m, out bidding Emap by £17m.

Earlier this month Hachette Filipacchi UK closed B, its monthly glossy for young women, after a sharp decline in sales.

In February, lawyers representing Vogue magazine wrote to the Mail on Sunday complaining that the newspaper's You magazine masthead's typeface was "virtually indistinguishable" from the fashion magazine. The next month You launched as a paid-for newsstand weekly with a £1 cover price.

Condé Nast, which owns Vogue, requested that You take "all steps necessary" to ensure that readers did not confuse the two titles.

"We note that the typeface in which the word You is written is virtually indistinguishable from the typeface in which our client's Vogue magazine has for decades been presented," the letter said.

"In addition, like our client's magazine, You magazine generally features a fashion model on its front cover to indicate the fashion-related topic on which the issue in question focuses."

(Via The Guardian.)