South Korea’s largest search engine Naver is considering a lawsuit against global computing giant Hewlett-Packard, claiming that the company’s new IT unit copied its signature green search bar logo. 

In April, Hewlett-Packard spun off its corporate hardware and services arm and named it Hewlett Packard Enterprise. The company also unveiled a new green rectangular logo, a distinct identity from the blue circular HP logo.

“The rectangular logo represents values such as openness, simplicity and client partnership,” Hewlett-Packard CEO Meg Whitman said at the time. 

But Naver said the new HPE logo resembles its own logo, which has been used for its marketing and branding campaigns since 2006. Naver’s campaigns have also been recognized by several design awards such as the iF Design Award.

“We are watching the situation closely. We might consider legal action if necessary,” said a Naver official.

“HP has long been operating in Korea. Local officials should have been aware of Naver and the signature logo,” another official said.

The new HPE logo was created by the famous branding agency Siegel+Gale based in New York. Since the unveiling, the logo has been widely used to promote the new company’s corporate identity.

“The corporate image was targeting the global market, not the Korean market. There is no problem considering the different business characteristics between HPE and Naver,” an HP Korea spokesperson said in an interview.

By Lee Ji-yoon (jylee@heraldcorp.com)