
Ask HN: Do we need permissions to show logos of systems we integrate with? - kull
Our SAAS startup uses public APIs of UPS, FedEx, Amazon, etc. We want to show those logos under our Integrations section. Can we do it without getting a written permission from those companies? We do not claim any affiliation with them etc., just displaying it so potential customers know our system utilizes APIs of those companies.
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greenyoda
There are some legal complexities. See, for example, the discussion of
TechCrunch's use of corporate logos in the following article:

[http://www.dmlp.org/legal-guide/using-trademarks-
others](http://www.dmlp.org/legal-guide/using-trademarks-others)

" _Although the practice is widespread, it is beginning to draw fire from
trademark owners. As noted above, late last year a representative of Avis
requested that law blogger Eric Turkewitz cease-and-desist from using its logo
in a post about a lawsuit involving the company (see Turkewitz 's post). The
law is not entirely clear on this point. The nominative fair use defense may
not apply because using the logo is not strictly necessary for describing the
trademark owner or its products or services. Nevertheless, courts would
probably find that use of a logo in the process of news reporting is not
likely to confuse consumers._"

In the context you describe, there could be more potential confusion than in
news reporting, since there may be doubt about whether using a company's logo
on your site implies some kind of endorsement by that company (even if you
don't explicitly claim that it does).

The easiest thing, of course, is not to use those companies' logos (just refer
to the company names in text). If you want to do use the logos, you'd be much
safer if you either got permission or consulted a lawyer.

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DoreenMichele
[https://www.quora.com/What-are-the-legal-guidelines-for-
usin...](https://www.quora.com/What-are-the-legal-guidelines-for-using-other-
brand-logos-on-a-website)

IANAL. I am someone who has a history of being a stickler for asking
permission first, rather than forgiveness later. There are some downsides to
that. It can be stultifying and sometimes is overly cautious for purposes of
getting things done.

So, some thoughts:

Big companies may view such things as _free advertising._ But I would guess
whether they are okay with it or not would depend a lot on whether or not they
like what you are doing, how careful you are to clearly signal that you are
merely using their public API and otherwise have no relationship to them, etc.
If you are trying to ride their coattails and imply that they endorse your
work when they don't, that might not end well, especially if they don't like
the kind of work you do.

Likability of your work can hinge in part on framing. For example, the same
service might be framed as _protecting the privacy of vulnerable people_ or it
might be framed as _enabling criminal activity in defiance of a government you
don 't like_. So one thing you might want to do is think very carefully about
how your own materials talk about your work and making sure to replace
phrasing with unfortunate connotations with different words that lack the
unfortunate connotations.

If the companies complain, you can promptly take it down. Assuming you haven't
done anything nefarious, that should be sufficient.

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matt_the_bass
Many companies have clear policies published with their api doc about how they
mark can be used. Try reading those.

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nitwit005
Don't be afraid to send a letter to ask. You'll find most companies are used
to handling this sort of request.

Companies often have brand usage guidelines that you can find online. Try
searching for those first. I'm sure you're not the only person who has wanted
to show that your service runs on AWS.

