

Ask HN: Do startups get permission to use company logos? - dangrossman

It's common to find the logos of websites and publications that have covered, or even mentioned, a startup as part of their homepage design. It's also common to find the logos of companies that have used the product. To what extent is it necessary, and typical, to get permission before using a logo?<p>If TechCrunch mentions your startup, can you display their logo in an "as seen in" page without risk of some legal action? What about CNET? What about a print magazine or newspaper? Do startups always ask clients before listing their customers -- it's common to see even large companies like Microsoft or Amazon listed when it's likely only a small team or employee used the product.
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tbgvi
For publications, I think you'd be safe in using their logo as long as you
were legitimately in the publication. Some sort of editorial content, not
advertising.

For users, I'm in the "it's better to beg for forgiveness than to ask for
permission" camp. I've only had one company ask that their logo be taken down,
mostly because they didn't want their competitors to know they were using us.
You might even want to A/B test to see if having that on the page helps. If it
doesn't improve conversions then it's probably not worth the risk of an angry
customer.

That being said, you might get more value out of asking for a testimonial than
just putting a logo up. I recently did that and ended up having a few fall off
the wagon due to needing higher-up permission. But the one's I got made it
worthwhile.

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jeffepp
If you are adding a logo be sure to link to the site as well. This adds a SEO
+ traffic benefit and makes a request for removal less likely.

We put logos of integration partners and they are generally quite pleased. Our
homepage is a PR5 backlink which is pretty valuable.

I would not recommend using customer logos without asking first. However, I
would assume that most would be happy to get the SEO juice and any traffic
that comes along with the link.

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TimMontague
Companies have different usage guidelines for their trademarks. For example,
here is Microsoft's:

[https://www.microsoft.com/About/Legal/EN/US/IntellectualProp...](https://www.microsoft.com/About/Legal/EN/US/IntellectualProperty/Trademarks/Usage/Logo.aspx)

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rgrieselhuber
I always ask first. Can't think of a good reason not to.

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rabidsnail
Asking them implies that saying no is a possible option. If you don't ask and
they complain you can act like they're behaving strangely and unreasonably. If
you've asked them for permission before you've sent them the signal that
having a problem with you using the logo is not strange or unreasonable.

By asking you're also bringing the fact that you're using their logo to their
attention, which they might not otherwise notice.

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Skywing
Couldn't hurt to ask for permissions, first.

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dangrossman
When your customer is a Microsoft or a Google, asking the employee that signed
up for permission is just going to lead to "I'd have to contact legal", won't
it? How are startups getting through this?

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byoung2
_How are startups getting through this?_

By not asking. I work for ClearChannel, and I can only imagine the process I'd
have to go through to get something like that cleared. It would have to go
through legal (to draw up a disclaimer that we do not endorse the product),
communications (to secure an approved version of the logo and approve its
placement), and probably IT (maybe if the public knows we use a certain
technology, it could be a potential attack vector).

