Given Yahoo’s paranoia about other companies stealing ideas from them, they may want to take a look in the mirror.

This picture from StartUp Grind’s Derek Anderson, shows some striking similarities between Yahoo’s current logo and a 1963 Mad Magazine comic panel.

Anderson makes his point about some of the key similarities between the two:“Yahoo’s logo today and the one they originally used in 1996 is virtually identical minus a drop shadow and some pixels. It’s an impressive feat that the logo has remained consistent and lasted for this long. But when you take a closer look at Yahoo’s logo today (or 1996) against the comic in the 1963 Mad Magazine, the similarities are astounding. The fonts in both are nearly identical and the positioning of the “A” and “H” in both logos are also nearly identical. But perhaps the most obvious ripoff is the fact that the exclamation points are exactly the same. While Mad Magazine’s 1963 version is more dramatically tilted to the right, the yahoo logo appears right leaning even today.”

Since the article’s publication two days ago, it has drawn some hot debate around the interwebs about whether or not the comic was actually the inspiration for Yahoo’s logo. I contend that this point is moot as MAD is unlikely to sue over such a frivolous cause. The two businesses do not overlap, so one does not have to worry about the other in terms of competition.

It does however, draw some striking comparison’s to the recent patent lawsuits Yahoo has engaged in with Facebook.

When pointing out the differences in the comic, you may say that having a font with serifs doesn’t necessarily make the two the same. The fonts have just as many dissimilarities and the kerning isn’t exact. Well, you’re right. And that’s exactly the point. Just because two things are similar does not mean one was taken from the other.

The same reasoning can, and should, be applied to Yahoo and Facebook’s patents. Just because Yahoo has a “System and method to determine the validity of and interaction on a network“, doesn’t mean Facebook owes them money for allowing Facebook members to interact on a network. Vague and misleading patents like the ones Yahoo are trolling with, could have been invented by anyone, and could apply to the entire internet.

With word that Yahoo is now attacking the open source community with their latest round of patents, I have to wonder if a lawsuit from MAD Magazine isn’t exactly what they need to get them to wake up.

[via: SERoundtable]