The launch of a new special edition ‘scarab’ colour scheme for Factor’s Ostro Vam aero bike has attracted controversy this week, after Colombian steel bike manufacturer Scarab issued a cease-and-desist letter to the company, claiming that the use of its name and similar branding was “misleading” and “heightening consumer confusion between the two brands”.
Earlier this week, Factor unveiled a limited-edition version of its flagship Ostro Vam bike, the ‘scarab’ colourway of which is named after the stout-bodied beetle’s often bright metallic and colourful shells – the inspiration, Factor says, for the bike’s “iridescent paint pigmentation”.
However, the colour scheme’s name and Factor’s use of a beetle as part of its branding for the launch (albeit not on the bike itself) has been criticised by custom steel bike company Scarab Cycles, which has claimed that the promotional materials not only mimic the Colombian brand’s name but also resemble its beetle logo.
In an official response to Factor’s launch, while noting that the use of ‘scarab’ may have been “unintentional”, Scarab Cycles argued that the marketing has created confusion among customers – many of whom believe that the colour scheme marks a collaboration between the two brands – and called on Factor to stop using both the name and logo.
Located in the Andes just south of Medellín, Colombia’s second-largest city, Scarab was founded in 2018 by Santiago Toro, and quickly established a reputation for hand building unique custom steel bikes with vibrant designs inspired by the country’s cycling heritage. Its custom steel Apuna all-road bike received a rave review on our sister site off.road.cc last year.
> Scarab Cycles – the story of a Colombian steel bike company
The brand’s name derives from the nickname given since the 1950s to Colombian cyclists, escarabajos – for their ability to rapidly climb walls (or in the case of the riders, fearsomely steep mountain passes) – and popularised globally in the 1980s with the emergence of a wave of Colombian climbing talent on the European scene, led by Lucho Herrera and Fabio Parra.
Scarab holds a trademark in Colombia for its name and logo, though it is unclear whether this applies globally.
Nevertheless, the similarities between Scarab’s branding and the promotional materials used for Factor’s special edition Ostro Vam have prompted the Colombian company to issue a cease-and-desist letter to its larger, carbon-focused counterpart.
“To address the recent announcement of Factor Bikes’ ‘OSTRO VAM Scarab’, Scarab Cycles has sent a cease-and-desist letter to Factor Bikes regarding the use of the Scarab name and logo in connection with this bicycle,” Scarab said in a statement.
“The use of these elements is confounding, misleading, and something we don’t believe Factor would intentionally infringe upon.
“To be clear: this is not – and never was – a collaboration. Factor’s history of partnering with well-known artists and designers such as Paul Smith, David Millar, and Hatsune Miku has understandably led to this assumption, but Scarab Cycles is not affiliated with Factor Bikes in any way.”
The Colombian company also claimed that the font used by Factor is “quite similar to the typography Scarab Cycles has used since our inception”, though the font included in Factor’s promotional material for the bike appears to be exactly the same as its normal typography.
Scarab continued: “Our bikes are known for being bold, loud, and often incorporating unique finishes, including colour-changing paints inspired by Colombia’s vibrant nature. These shared design elements have undoubtedly heightened consumer confusion between the two brands.
“While it’s our understanding that Factor has not painted a Scarab logo or wordmark on the bicycle frame itself – using it only in their marketing materials – this oversight has still created significant brand confusion.
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“Since the logo and name have not been applied to the product itself, we believe it is straightforward and cost-effective for Factor to correct this mistake. Factor Bikes’ origins in Miami, Florida, and Scarab’s global presence likely contributed to this unintentional overlap.
“We want to emphasise that we have nothing but respect for Factor as a brand and manufacturer. Like Scarab, they are one of the few companies in the cycling industry that designs and produces their own bikes, a rarity we deeply admire.
“We remain optimistic that this issue can be resolved amicably so that both brands can continue focusing on what we do best: crafting exceptional bicycles for riders around the world.”
While Scarab’s official response appears intent to reach an “amicable” solution, the brand’s approach on its social media channels was rather more forthright.
“At Scarab Cycles, every FACTOR is considered to craft bikes as unique as our country,” the company’s latest social media post, which also includes a definition of the scarab and the name’s links to Colombia’s racing pedigree and tradition, says sarcastically.
“What’s in a name? For us, Scarab is about the rich heritage of cyclists and our country. Oh, and it’s OUR NAME,” the caption added.
When approached by road.cc for comment, a spokesperson for Factor said: “We’re aware of the issue and are working with our legal advisors on a response. It’s not our policy to publicly comment on ongoing legal matters.”
17 thoughts on “Factor issued cease-and-desist letter from Colombian steel bike brand over “misleading and confusing” Scarab design”
Im of the opinion that Scarab
Im of the opinion that Scarab Cycles is just after some publicity. You cannot have soul ownership and control of the use of the word and similar branding when it comes to being used in conjuction with bicycles. Its like Costa Coffee filing lawsuits against other businesses for using ‘Costa’ in their name, sell coffee or have a similar logo Its absurd.
You can argue the fact that maybe factor can use or has used the branding as a means to con, scam or defraud SC customers or SC suffered damage to their business financially but the onus is on SC to prove that Factor has done that and they probably cant.
This is SC just saying “I dont like that youre using the word Scarab and pictures of a Scrab. we are going going to take you to court”
On what grounds does SC have a case? Even the logo’s are different and there is no mistaking them.
Trademarks are a thing, and
Trademarks are a thing, and trademark law is a thing, let’s not be willfully ignorant. You try setting up ‘Costa cafe’ with similar branding and see how quickly the law comes at you
What many people don’t know
What many people don’t know is that when a company that holds the right to a name or logo, they are required to guard those rights, through legal means if neccessary. If they don’t, that lack of action can be held against them in a later legal battle.
So suppose they don’t act on something, because is it is only slighty confusing, they can get in trouble for that in a next case when the resemblances are much clearer. ‘Well, they let that other company use their name, so we can do so too’.
Exactly this. My employer
Exactly this. My employer holds some registered marks (both trade and certification), and if we don’t act if a business misuses our marks then we could ultimately be required to forfeit them.
In this case, I think that writing a formal cease and desist letter is pretty light touch, and the publicity is potentially necessary as they may be getting enquiries about the perceived collaboration. Scarab Cycles themselves say they believe it to be unintentional, so I would expect Factor to act reasonably.
Personally I had never heard of Scarab Cycles, but that does not mean they lack a valid claim to intellectual property, and as I am not really a fan of carbon bikes with hideous oversized tubes, I know whose bike I would be more interested in.
thats an utterly shit take,
thats an utterly shit take, go read up on Trademark and Copyright law.
All your examples are clear violations of it.
A far better example would be of Easy Group’s regular aggressive efforts to control the use of the word Easy, but without corresponding use of the Orange colour or Font.
RoubaixCube wrote:
It’s reality. If you start a cafe called Costa, Costa will sue you and win. If you have a cafe with a different name but advertise a Costa Espresso or Costa Latte, Costa will sue you and win. If you start a cafe called Corta Coffee with a logo of three coffee beans on a red background, Costa will sue you and win. This is very obviously the way things work.
None of that is true. Trademark infringement doesn’t have to be deliberate and it certainly doesn’t need to be part of a criminal enterprise. It just has to happen and be potentially confusing to customers. While you can always argue that things get taken too far, too strictly etc… the marketplace you are envisioning would be pure chaos.
Never heard of Scarab, and
Never heard of Scarab, and now I’ll be sure to avoid. What a bunch of pathetic losers using threats on social media over a nothing burger. Factor should take the high ground and ignore these dung rollers.
Not previously heard of
Not previously heard of Factor Bikes so it’s a little cheeky of that new brand to copy such an established marque as Scarab. Shame on them!
They certainly aren’t losers,
They certainly aren’t losers, they are a successful company, with a unique product and brand which they have every right to defend.
By airing it out on social
By airing it out on social instead of contacting factor directly?
The cease and desist WAS
The cease and desist WAS issued to Factor. That’s the way they work.
Griff500 wrote:
As are Scarab.
We were talking about Scarab!
I was talking about Scarab! Try to keep up.
Very unprofessional of Factor
Very unprofessional of Factor to get themselves into this situation. Some companies put significant resource into researching a name to establish areas of conflict before slapping it on a new brand, but to type “scarab bike” into Google and see what turns up is something that could have been done during coffee break.
Just to lighten the
Just to lighten the discussion a tad, this story brings to mind the case of Jed Singh Nagra, who several years ago named his convenience store on North Tyneside “Singhsbury’s” and used the same font, in orange, on a grey background, as a well known supermarket. The supermarket issued a Cease & Desist letter (as Scarab have done). Eventually to avoid ongoing hassle, Jed changed the name of his store to Morrisinghs. After the publicity the case received, several other convenience stores saw this as an opportunity and changed their names to some variation on “Singhsburys” (eg Wolverhampton, Southall, Seven Sisters), all using the same font, in orange letters on a grey background. Neither Sainsbury nor Morrisons have gone beyond a Cease and Desist letter to progress legal action, presumably as they decided that a big corporation suing a corner shop would be more damaging to their business than letting things lie. This is despite them having fairly solid grounds for a case. Not of course directly relatable to the Factor – Scarab case where the boot is on the other foot!
I rather liked some of the
I rather liked some of the look-a-likes. Leeds/Bradford has Mahmoods and I think there were a few fried chicken joins giving a cheeky wink to a more well-known chain.
McDonalds of course is notoriously litigious – apparently they might go after anything starting “Mc” whether the company sell fast food or an unrelated product. I thought it rather refreshing though when they had to settle with Viz magazine for plagarising the “Top Tips” idea because … er… the McDonalds ones were in fact almost word-for-word copies!
Whoah, when I first read this
Whoah, when I first read this, I was like, has my favourite software solution for horticultural industries, Scarab, ventured into bike manufacturing?? Or collaborating with a bike company?? But then I remembered my Scarab boat and was, like, well how about them in this picture – I mean same name and same logo, whhaatt??! And imagine my brain state, when I remembered the Scarab composting machine I drive – SO much confusion!! Thanks so much Scarab cycles for trying to make things clearer for me – you truly are DEFENDERS OF CLARITY, WARRIORS AGAINST CONFUSION. Much respect.