: Logo design legality question, Can I use another company's logo in my own? I am a graphic designer hoping for some legal advice. A client of mine owns a small company that makes equipment

@Pierce403

NO! You cannot use any part of someone else's logo without explicit permission. One brand that does incorporate other Logo's is Red (http://www.red.org/en/)

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@Murphy569

This is the sort of question that you need a lawyer for.

There is at least the possibility of a charge of "passing-off" — that is, that people seeing the repairers' logo will assume that it's a local subsidiary (if not actually part) of the manufacturer. Your repairer is deliberately associating himself with the manufacturer. A court would have to decide if there was an attempt to deceive. That could include considering the detriment experienced by a similar repairer who did not use the manufacturer's marks.

Your question asks whether the repairer is legally required to use the manufacturer's font/logo. We can't know that: that would be in a contract between the repairer and the manufacturer. If in fact you are asking whether they are legally barred from using it, we can't know that either: that would also be in a contract.

Without a contract at all, and there being no real relationship between the repairer and the manufacturer, it's more than likely that they should not be using the logo and implying such a relationship.

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@Murray976

Legally required? I'm no lawyer, but I'd say they are legally restricted from using the manufacturer's logo in their own. It's just bad form to use some other companies logo anywhere as "part" of another logo. And I would think there are legal issues with it because "your" company is directly piggy-backing brand recognition from the work of the manufacturer. I know if I designed a logo and saw it in use as you describe, I would absolutely bring it to the attention of my client's legal team.

Most companies have their own, independent logo then indicate they are a licensed or authorized distributor of [manufacturer's logo] products.

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