Logos of any sort – business, sport, charity etc – are protected by copyright law, or trademark law, or both.
The legal situation is simple: you cannot use them without written consent. But the problem is that the reality is different. There are hundreds of websites that use logos without consent, and get away with it.
It depends on the attitude of the owners – some don’t care about people using their logo. Others do.
We’re happy for anyone reputable to use the CMP logo, as the publicity helps us. We will instruct sites who misuse it, or who misrepresent us, to take it down.
The logo owners’ attitude usually depends on reputation, and whether money or commercial interests are involved.
Premier league / Championship clubs usually guard their logos zealously. So do organisations like the Premier League, FA, and the IOC. They are generally quick to spot breaches and will insist they are removed – they may charge a fee, too. The IOC go to extraordinary lengths to stop their logo being using without consent.
This doesn’t stop people using them anyway … and a lot of casual bloggers get away with it, because they’re not making any money from them.
So it does really come down to what you can get away … and how much risk you’re prepared to take while finding out!
This is why I tell proofreaders to check the legal position with logos whenever they see one, and advise their clients to obtain written consent every time. It can be very expensive if you get it wrong.
See our proofreading courses