Delta, a Nintendo emulator app known for allowing users to play retro Nintendo games, recently found itself in a legal skirmish not with Nintendo, but with Adobe over its logo design.
On May 7, the emulator’s developer received a legal notice from Adobe, as reported by TechCrunch. The notice claimed that Delta’s app icon bore too close a resemblance to Adobe’s iconic “A” logo, potentially infringing on Adobe’s trademark rights.
Despite Delta’s primary function as a game emulator, its conflict arose not from game content but from its visual branding. Adobe’s legal challenge is particularly notable given that emulators often face scrutiny from game publishers like Nintendo for copyright reasons. However, in this instance, Adobe has taken issue with the logo’s design rather than the software’s functionality.
Following the legal notice, Apple, which hosts the Delta app on its App Store, also reached out to the developer. Apple relayed that Adobe had requested the removal of the Delta app due to the alleged logo infringement.
Delta’s presence on the App Store is significant; it was one of the first emulators approved under Apple’s guidelines that permit emulators as long as they do not facilitate piracy. This approval has helped Delta achieve considerable popularity, evidenced by its high ranking in the Entertainment category, where it currently holds the sixth position with over 17,100 ratings.
In response to Adobe’s complaint, the Delta team explained that their logo was intended to represent the Greek letter “delta,” not an uppercase “A.” Nevertheless, they introduced a new, interim logo, described by the developer as appearing as if “someone took a sword to its old one to cut it in half.” This temporary logo will remain until the launch of Delta version 1.6, at which point a final revised logo will be unveiled.
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Featured Image courtesy of Dado Ruvic/REUTERS