(L-R) Calum Hood, Michael Clifford, Luke Hemmings and Ashton Irwin of 5 Seconds of Summer Perform During Their SiriusXM Hits 1 Album Premiere Special at the SiriusXM Studios on July 22, 2014 in New York City.
Cindy Ord/Getty Images for SiriusXM
The hash-mark logo adopted by pop-rock sensation 5 Seconds of Summer looks an awful lot like the one used since 2001 by the streetwear label Undefeated. But legal experts doubt any claim of infringement would fly in court. “It all boils down to the likelihood of confusion,” says attorney Martin Schwimmer, who runs The Trademark Blog. “If it can confuse a consumer, there might be a case.”
5 Seconds of Summer Soar to No. 1 on Billboard Artist 100
Of course, few who go searching for sneakers or workout gear are going to accidentally buy a 5SOS tee. So …?case closed.
This article first appeared in the Aug. 16th issue of Billboard.