Wikipedia:Logos

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✔ This page documents an English Wikipedia content guideline. It is a generally accepted standard that editors should follow, though it should be treated with common sense and the occasional exception. When editing this page, please ensure that your revision reflects consensus. When in doubt, discuss first on the talk page.
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WP:LOGO
For Wikipedia's own logo, see Wikipedia:Wikipedia logos.

While logos are very useful to help confirm that an article is of the party in question (usually a company, organization, item, etc.) which has that logo, and to indicate how those responsible for the logo wish to be seen (hereafter referred to as "owner"), the close association between some logos and its trademark and/or copyright holder (the owner) makes their use a sensitive topic, so precautions are desirable.

The encyclopedic rationale for including a logo is similar to the rationale for including portraits of a famous actor, for example. It is difficult to explain in words what information is conveyed by such a portrait, yet most users feel that they provide something valuable. The logo should be regarded as a portrait. However, unlike people, where it is often possible to take a free photograph of that person, logos are typically protected by copyright and/or trademark. This page helps to ensure that logo usage conforms to Wikipedia's non-free content guidelines.

The following law and guidelines can help to ensure trademark and copyright compliance:

[edit] Guidelines

  • Logos should be presumed to be trademarks and/or copyrighted. However, it is believed that some simple typographic logos are not subject to U.S. copyright; see WP:NFC.
  • 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).
  • 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, the visual style of the creator of the logo, or of its history and evolution. Within the article, the real logo should generally be used near the introductory paragraph, adjacent to text which is simply descriptive and which presents a clearly neutral point of view. Logos tend to recognized quickly, so a placement at the start helps the logo to do its job to confirm that a user has arrived at the right article. This does not mean that the article should be censored - only that the logo be placed near neutral text, not in the middle of long negative passages.
  • 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 fair use in an article about a parody site or campaign.
  • When uploading a copyrighted logo, whether current or historical, include the {{non-free logo}} template message in the image description:
Copyrighted This is a logo of an organization, item, or event, and is protected by copyright and/or trademark. It is believed that the use of low-resolution images on the English-language Wikipedia, hosted on servers in the United States by the non-profit Wikimedia Foundation, of logos for certain uses involving identification and critical commentary may qualify as fair use under United States copyright law. Any other uses of this image, on Wikipedia or elsewhere, may be copyright infringement. Certain commercial use of this image may also be trademark infringement. See Wikipedia:Non-free content and Wikipedia:Logos.

This tag must have an accompanying fair use rationale which must be unique to the usage of THIS image in each article in which it is used. You must also give the source and copyright information for all fair-use images uploaded.

Use of the logo here does not imply endorsement of the organization by Wikipedia or the Wikimedia Foundation, nor vice versa.
  • Copyrighted logos, like all non-free media, require a separate use rationale in the image description each time they are used in an article. The template {{logo fur}} may help editors construct a rationale.
  • Reasonable diligence should be taken to ensure that the logo is accurate and has a high-quality appearance. Common sense says that a logo displayed prominently on the logo owner's own website should be OK to use, because it represents their wishes about how the logo is presented on computer screens at typical screen resolutions. Avoid resizing a logo—try to find one that is a suitable size. Do not use a resized logo if it doesn't look good.
  • Overly high-resolution versions of copyrighted logos should be avoided, however, as they are less likely to be fair use. For SVG formats, versions of the logo that contain significantly more detail than is necessary to display at the desired (low) resolution should be avoided.
  • Usually, the current logo should be the logo presented. When a historical logo is used, the caption should indicate this.
  • Special care should be taken when using the logo of an encyclopedia or other reference work in a Wikipedia article. While it may not be more likely to be copyright infringement, not taking such care is more likely to introduce trademark issues.
  • It is not necessary to seek formal permission from the owner in advance of using their logo, so long as the usage is fair use, does not create any impression that the logo is associated with or endorses Wikipedia or the article it appears in, and does not create any reasonable grounds for complaint by the owner. The purpose of the specific guidelines above is to meet these conditions.
  • In the event that the owner objects to the use made of a logo, the suggested action is for the owner to remove the logo themselves, and identify themselves and their reasons for removing it on the associated talk page.
  • In the case of any dispute, the burden of proof is on the person who wishes to include the logo. This does not mean, however, that one person may veto a consensus on the use of the logo, unless that person is the owner of the logo.
  • When a logo is removed because of an objection on the part of the owner, no attempt should be made to re-insert the logo (except perhaps under very extraordinary circumstances, and only after extensive discussion). The other provisions of these guidelines are intended to cover ordinary, common-sense usage. When the circumstances are unusual and the use of the logo is in dispute, these guidelines should not be cited as weighing on the side of inclusion.
  • Logos that contain slogans should be omitted in favour of equivalent logos that do not.

[edit] U.S. trademark law

U.S. law protects the use of trademarks by non-owners for purposes of criticism and commentary. First Amendment considerations override any expressive, noncommercial use of trademarks. "The Constitution is not offended when the [Maine] antidilution statute is applied to prevent a defendant from using a trademark without permission in order to merchandise dissimilar products or services. ... 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." (emphasis added) L.L. Bean, Inc. v. Drake Pubs., Inc., 811 F.2d 26, 31, 33 (1st Cir. 1987.)

Similarly, the Federal Trademark Dilution Act of 1995 does not apply to the "noncommercial use" of a famous mark. 15 U.S.C. 1125(c)(4)(B). The U.S. Supreme Court has defined "commercial speech" as "speech which ... propose[s] a commercial transaction." Virginia Pharmacy Ed. v. Virginia Citizens Consumer Council, Inc., 425 U.S. 748, 762 (1976.)

The only limit on this right is whether someone might think that the commentary was produced by the trademark owner. "[A]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 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 question." (emphasis added) Girl Scouts of the United States v. Bantam Doubleday Dell Publishing Group, Inc., 808 F. Supp. 1112 at 1121, n. 12 (S.D.N.Y. 1992.)

This work contains material which may be subject to trademark 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 you have the right to use it under the laws which apply in the circumstances of your intended use. You are solely responsible for ensuring that you do not infringe someone else's trademark. See also the Wikipedia trademark disclaimer and Wikipedia:Logos.
It is currently being discussed if trademarks are non-free according to the Definition of Free Cultural Works as adopted by the Wikimedia Foundation. See the talk page and the Non-free content talk page for more information.
  • An appropriate image copyright tag must still be used in addition to the trademark template.
  • It is best to include text in the image description that explicitly identifies the owner of the trademark.

[edit] U.S. government agencies

Specific US law prohibits the reproduction of designated logos of US government agencies without permission. Use restrictions of such logos should be followed and permission obtained before use, if required.