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When It Comes to Logos: Love Is in the Air

Michael Stewart, entrepreneur and CEO of Mosayk Inc. a Raleigh, North Carolina-based fashion and marketing firm, loves North Carolina. But the State of New York is fighting with him over who has the right to declare their love for their respective states.

Stewart applied for a trademark, shown here, in April 2003 and was told in July 2004 that New York would oppose his application. The law firm representing New York, CMG Worldwide, filed a suit against Stewart, declaring Mosayk should not have the right to use the phrase or logo, “I Love North Carolina” because it is similar to the “I Love New York” logo. Mosayk’s logo is one of several that have come under fire from the New York State Department of Economic Development in the past few years. Other targets have included “I [heart symbol] Yoga” and tourism slogans such as “I [heart symbol] San Francisco.”

Stewart plans to end New York’s monopoly on the rights to say “I Love.” The case is tentatively scheduled for an October hearing with the US Patent and Trademark Office and could set a nationwide precedent in the field of trademarks.

Logo draws fire from N.Y.
New York opposes a trademark application for a North Carolina T-shirt logo

By SUE STOCK, Staff Writer

New York has no love for North Carolina, at least not when it comes to the state's famous "I [heart symbol] NY" logo.

A North Raleigh clothing designer named Michael Stewart is in hot water with the state of New York over T-shirts he designed with an "I [heart symbol] NC" logo.

His logo is one of several that have come under fire from the New York State Department of Economic Development in the past few years. Other targets have included I [heart symbol] Yoga and tourism slogans such as I [heart symbol] San Francisco.

Stewart's case is tentatively scheduled for an October hearing with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office. If the hearing proceeds as planned, his case could be one of the first to be heard and could set a precedent.

Stewart, 21, works as a teller for First Citizens Bank but has created clothing for his company, Mosayk, since 1998.

He founded Mosayk with a friend (and his mother's help) when he was just 14 and originally sold T-shirts and other clothing featuring the Mosayk logo and an urban flair. He started selling shirts outside big events but graduated to trade shows and eventually found a financial backer and international distributor.

But in June 2001, his financing fell through and Stewart found himself trying to reinvent his brand. Originally he designed a T-shirt that looked like North Carolina's license plate and replaced the "First in Flight" slogan with "First in Fashion." From that idea came the NC heart logo shirt, which he started producing in 2003.

"A lot of good things come out of North Carolina," Stewart said. "We just wanted to show that."

He said his logo differs from New York's because the lettering is a different style, the heart is more rounded and printing is in two shades of blue. He applied for a trademark in April 2003 and was told in July 2004 that New York would oppose his application.

"I considered that UNC might have a beef with me [because of the color], but I didn't even fathom that New York would come after me," said Stewart, a Brooklyn native. "I respect that New York is trying to protect itself. But you can't stop people from expression."

Stewart's design is still too close to the NY logo and therefore is a trademark infringement, said Lawrence Molnar, a lawyer with CMG Worldwide, the firm representing New York. New York began using its logo in 1977.

"New York's logo and 'Virginia is for Lovers' are the two most successful tourism slogans," Molnar said. "It's an effort for them [the state] to protect what they own in" the trademark.

The trademark fight delayed the start of Stewart's line by at least half a year, he said. In addition to T-shirts, he wanted to branch out to other items and possibly other colors if different schools or groups were interested.

The legal battle is time consuming and may eventually cost ,000 to ,000, Stewart said, even though he's trying to do much of the work himself. "I just want to send a message that you can't bully someone just because you're bigger than them," he said.

New York isn't bullying anyone, Molnar said. The main concern is avoiding production of cheap, bootleg products. "The consumer then doesn't know and still thinks the product is a licensed product from the state of New York," he said.

But the question is whether the concept was trademarked in the state in question, said Mark Waltrip, chief operating officer of Central Florida Investments. The time-share firm won trademark status for its heart logos -- such as for Orlando, Las Vegas, and the Smokies.

"Unless the 'I [heart symbol] ' was ' already protected [in North Carolina], I would be surprised if they had a case," he said.

Many who file for an "I [heart symbol]" trademark do give up after the state of New York files an official opposition to their application.

"It wasn't worth it to us, and we weren't married to the design," said Suzanne Friedman, who is co-owner of a Miami company called I Love Yoga that filed for a trademark on "I [heart symbol] Yoga."

Still others, such as Stewart, are seeing their cases through to the end. The city of San Francisco has filed for a trademark on I [heart symbol] SF and is in a similar dispute.

"People can't confuse San Francisco and New York," said Jim Kuzmich, the attorney representing San Francisco.

The number of trademark fights over "I [heart symbol]" logos has increased dramatically over the past few years, Kuzmich said.

Though Central Florida Investments has won an "I [heart symbol]" trademark, Stewart's case may still serve as the benchmark, because his logo much more closely resembles New York's, with text arranged on two lines and "NC" and "NY" being much closer in appearance.

"The first ones to go all the way to the hearing will probably set the standard for everyone else," Kuzmich said.

Staff writer Sue Stock can be reached at 919-829-4649 or sstock@newsobserver.com.