I finally received a call back from Peter Kuran, who as a result of Susan Mundick’s immediate departure, has now risen to the position of acting General Manager for the Vancouver Park Board.
First, I was told that Anita Ho, the Director of Corporate Services, had also received another inquiry besides CivicScene’s regarding Ian Robertson’s use of the Vancouver Park Board logo on his personal and partisan website. In fact, it was Ho that added the “Proudly 1 of 7 Elected Officials of the” to the logo to try and smooth things over.
In consideration of the fact that this logo is a representation of a public entity, I didn’t feel that this was sufficient, hence my follow-up with Kuran.
Want to use this on your website? Feel free, because you are unlikely to get much pushback from the Vancouver Park Board.
What I discovered in our conversation, however, was very surprising to say the least.
When asked why Park Board Commissioner was able to use the logo for his own purposes, Kuran told me:
“We do not have our logo registered or trademarked, so we have little ability to protect its use.”
Kuran told me that for however long this particular version of the logo has been in use (he wasn’t sure of its duration), it has never been registered.
According to Kuran:
“This is odd because we have registered just about everything else.”
When asked whether he wasn’t concerned about the situation, Kuran responded by stating:
“It would be nice to have everything buttoned down. But we could have a new design when the new General Manager is hired. If this logo sticks around, I am sure that will will look into the process.”
So how about until that time, Mr. Kuran, when companies or other private interests could use the logo to create a false sense of affiliation and profit as a result?
“That would be a concern, but I am not sure why anyone would.”
Well, what if a landscaping company, or a consultant that sets up children’s playgrounds, or a swimming pool cleaning consortium, suddenly starts using the logo on their website and promotional materials, without making any specific claims about an official association?
“In those cases, we would pursue them as misrepresentation, because it would give the false impression that that entity was doing work for or with the Park Board.”
How would you determine which cases of unauthorized logo usage to pursue, and which to leave alone?
“It would be looked at on a case by case basis.”
So there you have it, folks. The Vancouver Park Board has no registration or trademark over its own logo, making it a perfect target for abuse.
With the fact that staff at the Vancouver Park Board are already being cut back, I highly doubt that anyone will be looking into unauthorized uses of the logo. In fact, outside of the IOC or Disney, very few organizations have those kinds of resources at their disposal.
This is why you get such a logo legally protected, so that the deterrence factor is already there with or without enforcement.
Make no mistake about it – the logo could prove to be very lucrative for an entrepreneur trying to gain a market foothold or looking for a strategic advantage over his or her competition. The mere allusion to being somehow professionally linked to the Vancouver Park Board is something that would carry appeal for a potential client looking for a measure or mark of legitimacy before committing to a supplier.
Both Park Board Chair Raj Hundal and Park Board Commissioner Aaron Jasper were unavailable for comment.
