Nolan's Tenet Faces Hurdle From A Bicycle Component Brand

Warner Brothers and Christopher Nolan almost landed in a soup in the run up to the release of the revered movie director’s highly anticipated movie, ‘Tenet.’ The issue pertained to the movie’s name, rather its stylized font, which bore a striking similarity to Washington-based bicycle component specialist, Tenet Components. It appears that the two parties have amicably resolved the issue.  

The genre-bending spy thriller, starring John David Washington, Robert Pattinson, and India’s very own Dimple Kapadia, is scheduled to hit theatres in July but had its first teaser released on YouTube back in December. The end credits there had half of the name ‘Tenet’ in a mirrored font, referring to the time inversion on which its plot hinges. Coincidently, Tenet Components has the same logo which appears on many of its specialised bicycle parts like its machined aluminium pedals, handlebars, mounts, and even cycling apparel. This caught the eye of quite a few cycling enthusiasts and movie buffs. At best, it was considered that the cyclemaker was making a movie with Warner Brothers. At worst, it appeared that the cyclemaker had stolen its brand logo from one of the biggest movie makers in Hollywood.  

According to Tenet Components’ social media feed, once WB became aware of this, both the production house and Christopher Nolan reached out to them. In a letter, Nolan clarified that the similar logos were more of a result of two people simply having the same idea than the plagiarism case it looked like. He also offered to stop using the logo since Tenet Components had come up with it first. While Tenet had trademarked the name in October 2018, long before the movie was announced, they can not stop anyone from using the ‘Tenet’ name outside the bicycling industry. 

Tenet Components' founder Tyler Deschaine was grateful that a director like Nolan reached out to him. But he was understandably concerned about preserving his small firm’s brand image, and he demurred.

Both parties have been amicable about the issue and there have been no lawsuits flying around. In fact, in the latest Tenet movie trailer, the name now gets a simpler font, which should clear concerns for both involved.

Source: pinkbike.com