Vent: Client "forgot" to mention my logo was already trademarked

A small coffee shop in Austin hired me for a fresh logo. I delivered it, they loved it, paid me $400. Then 3 weeks later they filed a copyright claim on my own design because their other designer said it was too close to their old mark. Turns out they never told me they had an existing trademark, they just wanted a free redo. I asked them to take down the claim, they said "not our problem, you should have checked." Has anyone else had a client hide prior IP stuff and then flip it on you?

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bell.harper5d ago

...and honestly that is so on brand for small coffee shops, they think being casual means they can skip the boring legal stuff but then turn around and act like you're the pro who should have caught it. I had a similar thing with a food truck, they gave me an old napkin with a scribble and said "make it modern" and then their cousin who "knows design" claimed I copied their handwritten sketch. The worst part is they never mentioned the trademark either, I found out when I got a cease and desist from their lawyer, which was just a friend of theirs but still scary. You'd think a $400 project means you're not doing a full legal search, that's on them to share. My advice, for what it's worth, is to add a line in your contract saying they confirm they own all IP and will hold you harmless, it won't stop the headache but it gives you something to point at. And if they keep dragging their feet, just make it public on local business pages, not in a mean way, just facts, because other designers in Austin deserve a heads up.