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Usually, the current logo should be the logo presented. When a historical logo is used, the caption should indicate this, and there should be a good reason for the use of the historical logo (whether the current logo is used or not) explained in the historical logo's fair use rationale. Logos that contain slogans should be omitted in favour of equivalent logos that do not. The slogans can be described in the article's prose, or the article's prose and infobox (not in the infobox alone).
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The encyclopedic rationale for including a logo is similar to the rationale for including portraits of a famous actor: most users feel that portraits provide valuable information about the person that is difficult to describe solely with text. Logos should be regarded as portraits for a given entity.
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Logos for musical bands are generally not as integral to a band's image as corporate logos are for companies. For this reason, current consensus is that non-free band logos are generally not appropriate in an article about a band unless the logo itself is discussed in the prose. A logo may be placed
646:
Reasonable diligence should be taken to ensure that the logo is accurate and has a high-quality appearance. This does not mean that unnecessarily high resolution images should be used, but it does mean that resized logos should not be used if their appearance differs significantly from the original.
121:
Many images of logos are used on
Knowledge (XXG) and long standing consensus is that it is acceptable for Knowledge (XXG) to use logos belonging to others for encyclopedic purposes. There are three main concerns with logo use. First, they are usually non-free images, and so their use must conform to
711:
U.S. law may prohibit the reproduction of designated logos of U.S. government agencies without permission. Use-restrictions of such logos must be followed and permission obtained before use, if required. However, this does not affect the copyright status, because as works of the federal government,
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A logo may appear in the infobox of the main article on the subject the logo represents. For example, the main company logo may appear in the main article about the company, the main school logo in the main article about the school, and the main sports team logo in the main article about the sports
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Logos should not be used in contexts which are, taken as a whole, strongly negative. It is generally acceptable to use a logo in an article about what the logo represents (such as a company or organization), or in an article discussing the logo itself, its history and evolution, or the visual style
527:
The only limit on this right is whether someone might think that the commentary was produced by the trademark owner. "n author certainly would have a First
Amendment right to write about the subject of the Boy Scouts and/or Girl Scouts. However, this right is diluted by trademark law insofar as
502:
U.S. law protects the right of non-owners to use trademarks for purposes of criticism and commentary. First
Amendment considerations override any limits on these expressive, noncommercial use of trademarks. "The Constitution is not offended when the antidilution statute is applied to prevent a
624:
Avoid using a logo in any way that creates an impression that the purpose of its inclusion is to promote something. Generally, logos should be used only when the logo is reasonably familiar or when the logo itself is of interest for design or artistic reasons.
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Special care should be taken when using the logo of an encyclopedia or other reference work in a
Knowledge (XXG) article. While the standard for fair use remains the same as for other logos, not taking such care is more likely to introduce trademark issues.
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can help generate a detailed rationale that covers all necessary information. As well as a fair use rationale, the URL where the logo was found is useful to help verify the licensing information, copyright holder and authenticity of the logo. An
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Visually impaired users, like most users, may want to know what a logo looks like. If it is in an infobox, the logo is inaccessible to visually-impaired users and, in that case, a prose description is appropriate. Because an
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and logos are rarely described in secondary sources, in a
Knowledge (XXG) article a logo may be described directly from the logo, factually but preferably with prudently understated wording, to avoid its reading like
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Unlike people, however, where it is often possible to take a free photograph of that person, logos are typically protected by copyright and trademark law and so cannot be replaced by a completely free alternative.
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team, but a school logo and a school sports team logo may not both appear in the same article (although they may appear in separate articles). Outside of these limits, neither non-free nor trademarked logos (see
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that author cannot present her subject in a manner that confuses or misleads the public into believing, through the use of one or more trademarks, that those organizations have produced or sponsored the work in
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The
Constitution does not, however, permit the range of the antidilution statute to encompass the unauthorized use of a trademark in a noncommercial setting such as an editorial or artistic context."
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Company logos may appear in articles on those companies, but note that, if challenged, it is the responsibility of those who wish to include the logo to prove that its use meets
Knowledge (XXG)
655:
In order to ensure that logos are appropriately displayed with an adequate level of detail, do not use a logo with smaller than 100-pixel resolution unless there is not a larger version.
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of the logo's creator. Defaced logos or logo parodies should be used with care and not given undue prominence. For example, parodies of logos may be carefully used under
130:. Second, logos are often registered trademarks and so their use is restricted independently of copyright concerns. Third, there are editorial issues about adhering to a
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laws in one or more jurisdictions. Before using this content, please ensure that it is used to identify the entity or organization that owns the trademark and that
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166:. Logos uploaded to Knowledge (XXG) must be low-resolution and no larger than necessary. The logo should receive a detailed fair use rationale — the template
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Lastly, a logo is not eligible for copyright if it consists entirely of simple geometric shapes, or a simple combination of shapes and text.
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in an article about a parody site or campaign, but should only be used in articles on the original if the parody is discussed extensively.
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Although many logos are non-free images and should be treated as such, there are three common cases where a logo will be copyright-free:
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must still be used in addition to the trademark template. It is recommended to identify the trademark owner in the image description.
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792:) – advises avoiding using brand marks (e.g. logos) where including them might make it seem like the entity has endorsed the page
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This image or logo only consists of typefaces, individual words, slogans, or simple geometric shapes. These are not eligible for
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The first case is based on the date of first publication: if the logo was first published before 1929, it can be assumed to be
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Similarly, the
Federal Trademark Dilution Act of 1995 does not apply to the "noncommercial use" of a famous mark.
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Please note: The public domain status of this work is only in regards to its copyright status. There may be other
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518:. The U.S. Supreme Court has defined "commercial speech" as "speech which ... propose a commercial transaction."
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defendant from using a trademark without permission in order to merchandise dissimilar products or services. ...
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Please do not use this template to tag non-free icons of computer software. Such items should be tagged with
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necessary to seek formal permission from the owner in advance of using its logo, so long as the usage is
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would not work in an infobox, add the prose description to the body of the article. Since the logo is a
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This Coca-Cola logo was first published in the late 19th century and contains only characters from the
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378:, so logos that consist purely of characters from a typeface are also uncopyrightable. You may use
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Simple combinations of the three rules are permitted provided the components are not used to form
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you have the right to use it under the laws which apply in the circumstances of your intended use
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When using images of logos, care must be taken about copyright, trademark and editorial concerns.
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Note, a logo can still be protected by trademark law, even if it is not subject to copyright.
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Use of the logo here does not imply endorsement of the organization by
Knowledge (XXG) or the
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238:, of logos for certain uses involving identification and critical commentary may qualify as
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also applies to these, provided the image remains fairly simple overall. See, for instance
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You are solely responsible for ensuring that you do not infringe someone else's trademark.
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668:) should be used within an article. Non-free logos are also not allowed to be placed in
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When uploading material which is subject to trademark protection, but for which the {{
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Girl Scouts of the United States v. Bantam
Doubleday Dell Publishing Group, Inc.,
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The second case is a logo that is simply a sequence of letters or written words:
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Certain commercial use of this image may also be trademark infringement. See
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to logos. It does not replace the policy, which is fully applicable to logos.
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Any other uses of this image, on Knowledge (XXG) or elsewhere, may be
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Virginia State Pharmacy Board v. Virginia Citizens Consumer Council
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This tag is not sufficient on its own. You must also include the
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inline with text discussing it if its inclusion meets the
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Characters from a typeface are uncopyrightable in the U.S.
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may apply. Substantive edits to this page should reflect
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of an organization, item, or event, and is protected by
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must be added to all images uploaded — for most logos,
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and selecting an appropriate logo and representation.
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This work contains material which may be subject to
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191:(shown below) is appropriate. Note that it is
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453:restrictions protecting this image, such as
27:Guidance on logo usage in Wikimedia projects
544:}} template does not apply, please use the
153:This section offers advice on applying the
56:Editors should generally follow it, though
776:Knowledge (XXG):Logo Copyright/Trademark
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806:Knowledge (XXG):Knowledge (XXG) logos
511:811 F.2d 26, 31, 33 (1st Cir. 1987.)
509:L.L. Bean, Inc. v. Drake Pubs., Inc.,
440:Knowledge (XXG):Public domain § Fonts
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32:Knowledge (XXG):Knowledge (XXG) logos
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801:Knowledge (XXG):Restricted materials
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444:Knowledge (XXG):Restricted materials
30:For Knowledge (XXG)'s own logo, see
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589:independent of the copyright status
831:Knowledge (XXG) content guidelines
64:. When in doubt, discuss first on
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607:Note that any appropriate
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164:non-free content criteria
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586:These restrictions are
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126:and, specifically, the
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304:Non-free computer icon
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318:Copyright-free logos
294:Wikimedia Foundation
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18:Knowledge (XXG):LOGO
429:not original enough
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Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License. Additional terms may apply.
