U.S. trademark law as set forth in the Lanham Act provides for a non-owner of a logo registered as a trademark to make fair use or “nominative use” without prior permission from the trademark owner. Logos as trademarks also can be protected by state law and court rulings in common law. The Publishing Law Center explains that unlike a copyright, the trademark ownership of a logo could potentially last forever. But logos don’t have to be registered as trademarks to be protected under common law. The law allows the owner of a trademarked logo to attempt to prevent any appropriation of the logo for use on competing goods or services or any use that could cause consumer confusion on ownership or endorsement. The rights of the logo owner, however, are not absolute.

The fair use or nominative use of a logo is recognized for purposes of description and identification. A newspaper, for instance, can incorporate a corporate logo in an article about a company’s annual report. Trademark allows an author of a nonfiction work to use a trademarked logo only to describe or identify the product or service of the company it represents. It might not be considered fair use, for instance, for a book on the general condition of the auto industry to incorporate only the logo of Ford Motor Co., on its cover. An article on the release of a new product using the logo of a competitor is even more likely to be found an infringement of trademark. Actual findings of infringement are left to the courts.

Related Reading: Characteristics of Logos

Portraying a logo in a fictional work, be it movie or illustrated novel, would generally not be considered an infringement as long as the use doesn’t confuse the viewer on who owns the logo’s trademark. The use of trademarks in fiction is recognized as a means for enhancing realism in a story, though the movie industry has turned that around by not only seeking permission to use logos, but selling their use to the trademark owners as product placement. Use of a logo in a fictional work that disparages the logo owner can be ruled a trademark infringement, yet use of the logo in connection with a non-fictional work of criticism is fair use.

A logo cannot be used in a way to suggest an endorsement by the logo’s owner where none exists. Putting the logo of the National Basketball Association on a product line of athletic shoes without licensing the logo first will bring a quick cease and desist order brought by the NBA. Selling T-shirts with the unlicensed logo of a rock band on tour is also an infringement of trademark, and might bring a quick visit from one of the band’s roadies to stop the sales and confiscate the shirts.

Even where a non-owner’s use of a logo or any trademark is considered fair or nominative use, the Publishing Law Center recommends attaching a disclaimer that identifies the owner of the logo, and that the logo is not authorized by, sponsored by, or associated with the trademark owner.