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

12 points by dangrossman ↗ HN
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?

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.

11 comments

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

kls
Whether ethical or not a lot of companies write it into their EULA or contract. It at least gives them some grounds to respond to a take down with hey it's in out contract. 10 to 1 no one is going to complain if the product is not of a questionable nature, they are just going to assume that someone somewhere in the org approved the use of the logo. Said product company usually relies on this and then takes down the logo should someone complain. With it written into a contract or EULA and with a policy of taking the logo down if a takedown notice is issues most companies have enough wiggle room to not end up in court over the practice.
byoung2
Sometimes it's better to beg forgiveness than ask permission. If you ask now, they may say no. If you use it without asking, they probably won't do anything for a while (if they even notice). By the time it hits their radar, hopefully your service is popular enough that they don't mind
pkamb
Yes it could. It's much easier to ask for forgiveness than permission.
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.

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

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.