Claims of copying were made about the activities of the SM league club Lahti Pelicans.
- Lahti Pelicans and its parent company Pelicans Ravintolat oy organize three events in the summer called Satamarock Lahti
- The founder of Satamarock, organized in Himanga, raised suspicions about Pelicans being copied
- According to the Pelicans, it has not “intentionally” copied
In Lahti, the SM league club Pelicans and Pelicans Ravintolat oy, which operates under it, organize three events in the summer called Satamarock Lahti. The first of these is on the program on Friday, June 5.
According to Pelicans, each event night is “its own party”. The events are organized in the port of Lahti.
The Pelicans’ project has now sparked a strong debate.
The wonder is carried from Kalajoki, more precisely from the municipality of Himanga, where a summer festival called Satamarock has been organized for three years.
One of the founding members of Satamarock Jere Rönkkö was surprised when he came across Pelicans’ announcements on social media about an event with the very same name, i.e. Satamarock – with the addition of Lahti.
– We think the event’s name, visual appearance and marketing contain significant similarities to our own brand. In addition, the event is marketed with the slogan “The biggest festival of the summer”, while we ourselves have been using the slogan message “The most atmospheric festival of the summer” for several years, Rönkkö marvels and continues:
– We consider the situation problematic because it can cause confusion for consumers as to whether the events are the same entity or whether they are related to each other. We also see the risk that possible failures will be wrongly linked to another operator, which could cause reputational damage. Our future plan to possibly expand our event to other parts of Finland will suffer greatly from this.
Marketing materials for the Satamarock event organized by Himanga and the Satamarock Lahti event organized by Pelicans. Above is the Pelicans version, below Himanga’s Satamarock logo.
According to Rönkö, he has been in contact with Pelicans’ marketing management, which is responsible for the Satamarock Lahti event. According to him, Pelicans felt that Satamarock is a “generic name that they can use”. The club also does not intend to change the name or brand of the event for the current summer.
– The situation raises questions about the extent to which an event brand established by a smaller operator can be utilized in the marketing of a larger organization and what opportunities a small company has to defend the brand it has built, Rönkkö reflects.
“It’s not like that”
Pelicans did not respond to Iltalehti’s request for comment. Instead, the club published a statement on its social media channels on Thursday.
– Regarding the name and visual appearance of the Satamarock Lahti event, there have been public claims that the event was copied from the Satamarock event organized in Himanga. We would like to state that this is not the case. Pelicans has not intentionally copied the name, logo or appearance of another event. Satamarock Lahti is an event planned for the port area of Lahti, whose name and visual appearance are based on the location of the event, the summer event atmosphere and Lahti’s own event environment, the statement states.
– We understand very well that event names and brands are important to organizers. We have not wanted to offend anyone or belittle anyone’s work. At the same time, we feel it is important to bring out our own point of view: the events are organized in different locations, geographically far from each other, their overall looks differ from each other, and the Lahti event is marketed as Satamarock Lahti.
According to Pelicans, events of a similar type and with almost the same name have been organized in different contexts before. That’s why the Lahtelaiseura does not consider the name to be unequivocally connected to only one event, and there is no danger of mixing it up.
According to Pelicans, the preparations for their own event are already well advanced.
– We apologize if the situation has caused upset. We hope that the discussion remains factual.
Curious comments quickly appeared under the Pelicans’ update.
– After all, the name, logo and branding are completely identical. I think it’s really pathetic for an organization the size of a ton to try to copy another annual event. And then again, that you don’t want to admit a mistake, but hide behind bad explanations. Now a little sense to those who are also responsible for this, one Instagram user said.
Damage through AI?
The Satamarock Lahti event takes place in the port of Lahti. Photo from 2020. Ismo Pekkarinen / AOP
Jere Rönkkö, one of the leaders of the Satamarock event organized in Himanga, also read the Pelicans’ statement.
– A very practical answer and some of the things mentioned are true. For example, the fact that the events are geographically located in different parts of Finland, Rönkkö begins.
Rönkkö wonders why the Pelicans couldn’t discuss the matter in a warm spirit and with good cooperation from the start.
– When I contacted the Pelicans office in a constructive spirit, the reception was rude. They stated that there are no similarities in the events and the name is completely different, when we operate under the name Satamarock and they operate under the name Satamarock Lahti. In colloquial language, however, events are called exactly the same, says Rönkkö.
He would have liked to discuss the matter on time and in a good spirit.
– We could have discussed in a good spirit and possibly thought about whether some kind of solution would have been found, Rönkkö says.
Photo of Samatarock organized in Himanga.
In their statement, Pelicans presented the view that events called Satamarock or Satama rock had already been organized elsewhere in Finland.
According to Rönkö, this is true.
– In the 1980s, 90s and early 2000s, an event called that was organized in Toijala port. When we got the idea for such a name and event, we immediately checked whether the name has been used before or whether a related brand already exists. When old information was found, we first contacted Toijala and made sure that the event in question was not about to be revived again, so that there would be no overlaps, says Rönkkö.
– I would have hoped for a similar approach from the Pelicans, because it is hard to believe that they would not have been aware of our brand already in the planning phase.
Rönkkö doubted With a video he posted on Tiktokthat Pelicans has used artificial intelligence in planning the event, which has been strongly influenced by Satamarock organized in Himanga.
The Pelicans claimed it has not “intentionally” copied another event’s name, logo or look.
– I presented a suspicion and a theory about what might have happened. I compared marketing materials with each other on different-looking sensors and they gave quite high scores. I’m not saying they took away our logo from us, but theirs ties in really strongly with the logo we use.
Regarding the Pelicans, it was noted that they have had a graphic artist do the general look.
– It may very well be that the graphics have been heavily worked on using artificial intelligence and that has led to the damage. Of course, nothing can be said for sure, says Rönkkö.
He has already had time to ask why the Satamarock event has not appealed to some kind of patent.
However, it is not quite that simple.
– Patents are intended for inventions, says Rönkkö.
Trademark protection is a separate matter.
– Based on what we have talked with the lawyer, there might be elements in this that the trademark protection would exist. We have a registered subsidiary name [Satamarock]which can be found in all business registers. Of course, it’s not quite the same thing as a registered trademark, Rönkkö perkaa.
Himanga’s Satamarock will take place on July 11. Among other things, the punk size Chlamydia is included.