Reports suggest that the UK Independence Party (UKIP) could be running the risk of a copyright dispute, after its new ‘purple lion’ logo attracted negative attention on social media and in the press for being too similar to that used by the Premier League.
UKIP unveiled its new lion’s head logo at its annual party conference in Torquay last week.
At the event on Friday 29 September, the right-wing political party presented two new logo options as part of an ongoing rebrand.
Conference attendees were asked to vote for their favourite – and the now-controversial image of a purple lion head bearing the slogan “UKIP for the Nation” was abruptly crowned the winner of the competition.
The image, which has now replaced the party’s previous yellow pound-sign emblem, has been criticised for bearing a striking resemblance to the Premier League’s long-established lion logo.
Shortly after it was announced as the winner of the competition, criticisms and copyright infringement concerns took social media site Twitter by storm, before later being picked up by the press.
A report in The Guardian suggests that the Premier League is currently investigating whether UKIP’s image is too similar to its own iconic emblem, while separate reports suggest that UKIP could be facing potential action over copyright infringement.
A spokesperson on behalf of the Premier League told The Guardian that it was looking into the issue.
In response, UKIP Chairman Paul Oakden has told BBC News that he is “not worried.”
“We did our due diligence before we put these logos to the membership and, as I said, we are perfectly comfortable,” he told reporters.