Unrelated movies with the same title are nothing new in Hollywood, from the Oscar-winning “Crash” and David Cronenberg‘s psychological thriller of the same name, or Marvel’s “The Avengers” and the movie based on the 1960s British spy series with the same title. But when a multi-million dollar movie shares not only the same name, but also the design of your company, you’d be forgiven from worrying about how that could hurt you.
Thankfully, it seems Warner Bros. was quick to change the logo for Christopher Nolan‘s upcoming “Tenet” in the latest trailer, after it was pointed out that the logo had striking similarities to the logo of Tenet Components, a bicycle components brand based in Washington. The brand launched in June of 2018 and also has a logo with the second “E” and “T” of “Tenet” inverted, so when Christopher Nolan’s “Tenet” was first announced, the owner of the bike brand, Tyler Deschaine was worried. In December of 2019, Deschaine made a post on Instagram urging people to spread the word that it wasn’t him who stole the logo from Nolan.
In an interview with Pinkbike, Deschaine mentions that his biggest worry was getting accused of stealing the logo, or worse, getting sued by Warner Bros. despite his brand having launched first. “I’ve spoken with layers and despite the validity of my concerns, I’ve been advised not to pursue it,” Deschaine says. “Even sending a letter could potentially open myself up to a preemptive lawsuit from Warner Brothers. These sorts of things can get dragged on for years and the legal fees can go well into the hundreds of thousands of dollars. We’re a tiny component company that is taking baby steps to carve out a place for ourselves in the industry. We in no way want to get raked through the coals of litigation. That would end poorly for us.”
After that interview, Warner Bros. sent an email from Christopher Nolan, addressing Deschaine’s concerns and asking for permission to use the “Tenet” design. “I guess lightning can strike twice, and obviously I understand that you would not want anyone thinking that you had been inspired by our movie’s title treatment,” Nolan wrote in the email. “Feel free to quote me in shooting such misunderstandings down. I love our logo so I hope you won’t feel this is necessary, but if you like, I can stop using it since it seems you went public with yours first.”
Based on the new trailer showing the film’s title with a different design, it’s easy to assume Deschaine didn’t approve of the use of the design, but at least there won’t be further confusion between the two “Tenets.”
