Ask HN: Can open source projects use adopters' logos without getting permission? | Hacker News Reader

Ask HN: Can open source projects use adopters' logos without getting permission?

6 pointsmountainview4 comments

My project is under Apache License 2.0, and it's adopted by many users for their production environment for commercial usage. I want to let more people know about my projects and provide social proofs using a logo wall with all the adopters' logos.

My question is: can I just use their logos without asking for permission from their marketing/legal department? Or at least, if I used it without the permission, is there some kind of law to protect me if being sued?

Could really use some help here. I have been supporting this big user, but they asked me not to use their logo or tell people that they are using my project because they might not look good, and they are not paying me at all or plan to pay...

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IANAL, but I see two different things going on:

1) if you want to use their logo for the purpose of marketing to eventually/indirectly bring income to your project, that seems like a trademark no-no. With that said, just as I could get away with tweeting "Starbucks messed up my order" and not be sued, you could probably write "This project is used by X, Y and Z", since you're just stating a fact. In any case, I don't see any good reason to sue, because a) they have to spend money mounting a convincing case b) they risk you simply not paying or not getting enough to even cover legal fees. Not to mention they would also risk you relicensing and forbidding them to use your project altogether. So suing seems like a lose-lose proposition. (but, again, IANAL, so take this w/ a grain of salt)

2) if you want this company to pay for your work, then you could ask for their sponsorship, or you could just not prioritize their requests. You have no obligation to cater to them.

I think putting "This project is used by X, Y and Z" on your website would still constitute trademark infringement. That it's a factual statement is irrelevant. The purpose of trademark laws is to prevent confusion in the marketplace. The pertinent question here is whether the statement creates a false impression that X, Y, and Z are endorsing your product. The answer is a clear yes.

If you write an blog post complaining how X, Y, and Z are using your product but won't let you use their logos, then you'd be in the clear. That's covered by fair use. Identification of the companies in question is absolutely essential to the message you're trying to convey.

> endorsing your product

Hmm, I suppose one could read it that way. I guess alternatively you could write "This project is used by major companies in X, Y, Z industries" so you're not naming specific companies.

From a purely legal perspective: it's unlikely you're allowed to use logos without permission. From a practical perspective: lawsuits don't usually happen right away and out of nowhere, especially against an open source project! If you use a company's logo, the worst case scenario would probably be them asking you to remove their logo. You remove the logo and everybody moves on...

That said, I am not a lawyer and just providing my opinion based on personal experience.

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