It’s been four months since I posted on the striking symilarity between the Debian logo and that currently being used by the Catalyst Career Group. At the recommendation of MJ Ray on the debian-legal mailing list I’m following up (a bit late) with a reasonably thorough comparison of the two logos. So here they are side by side:
Hmmm well they’re not identical … so is this a case of mistaken identity? Well no. The Debian logo is still there, but it has been transformed a bit. Actually if we just reflect the standard Debian logo across the X axis we come pretty close:
Close is good but this is legal stuff so being exact is probably important or something. I’m a complete n00b with the GIMP but even I can take 20 minutes and figure out how to rotate an image another 45 degrees:
So I’m no expert here but that’s pretty damn close. Change the color a little and I’ve transformed the Debian logo into that of the Catalyst Career Group in 3 or so moves. I’m convinced. Looks to me like the Debian logo is being misused. Let’s see what the debian-legal list says … to be continued.
technomasochism 
The irony of the ‘Change is Good’ motto has me in stitches. Funny stuff!
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I am planning to attend a job fair that is hosted by the Catalyst Career Group. I thought the logo looked like the Debian Logo as well. I agree with your comparison. They are the same (with color variation). What is being done about this?
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From what I’ve been able to gather, Software in the Public Interest (SPI) owns the copy right for the Debian Logo. The Debian legal mailing list has a pretty involved thread from a similar case.
I’ve followed a similar course of action and reported my concerns to the SPI board. The only way I could find to do so was to send mail to their list which is moderated (I’m not a member of the board after all). The last action I took was to sending the board a message noting my concerns. I got an automated “your mail is awaiting moderation” reply but haven’t heard anything back.
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Hi, I just spotted this similarity myself. It was a low-resolution photo in a press article, and the logo was small somewhere in the corner, and still it was immediately apparent to me that they copied the Debian logo. Then I googled it and found this blog entry.
Did you receive any answer yet? This is a clear copyright violation, and I think the Debian people should act on it. In a time where people are being sued for downloading copyrighted stuff for private use, I think its outrageous that this company can get away with commercial use.
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Jeez it’s been nearly two years since I put this one up. The SPI never responded to my email. Your point about infringement is well taken but unless the copyright holder is willing and has the funds to enforce the copyright it’s moot I guess.
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