May I use another company's logo on my website when they have written 
an article about my company ??? For instance if CNN had an article 
about my website could I then say "As Featured on" and have a CNN logo 
on my website without getting their permission....notice how 
<a href="http://www.lowermybills.com">http://www.lowermybills.com</a> has done this under their &quot;long distance&quot; 
area. I believe this can be done under the &quot;Fair Use&quot; provision but 
was wondering if someone can find me a solid answer to this question 
.... 

Hi Johnno,

As I noted briefly in my comment, the issue you are concerned with
concerns trademark more than it concerns "fair use" though both are
parts of the answer to your question. In a column called "Ask the
Lawyer" that is on the home page for the technical writers listserv,
someone asks a very similar question to yours, concerning using a
copywrited logo in a business presentation. The lawyer responding
explains the matter thusly:

"First, it's important to know what a logo really is, in the eyes of
the law. A logo can constitute either a trademark and/or a copyrighted
work. According to the U.S. Lanham Act, a trademark is generally a
"word, name, symbol, or device, or combination thereof" that is used
to "identify and distinguish...goods, including a unique product, from
those manufactured or sold by others and to indicate the source of the
goods, even if that source is unknown." Similarly, a service mark
identifies and distinguishes services, rather than goods."

[source: http://www.raycomm.com/techwhirl/magazine/writing/lawyer_logos.html
]

So, you are concerned with violating CNNs trademark, for example.
Fortunately, the trademark laws are failr cut and dried. To be in
violation, you either need to be using a trademark without permission
in a way likely to cause confusion, or using the trademakr in a way
that causes "trademark dilution" which "dilutes the distinctive
quality of the trademark". You seem to be doing neither in this case.

However, the article goes on to explain that you may still be guilty
of copyright infringment and this is where Fair Use will come in to
play. Fair Use covers specific instances where copying of copyrighted
material is okay. The questions asked to determine if you are
employing fair use are:

1. Is the purpose or character of use commercial or non-profit (i.e.,
educational)? [I do not know your specific instance]

2. Is the nature of the copyrighted work creative or informational
(i.e., factual)? [yours seems to be factual, using a logo to point
back to a site on the web]

3. What is the amount and substantiality of the portion used in
relation to the copyrighted work as a whole? (Rule of thumb: use no
more than is necessary. For small poems, perhaps the entire work; for
larger works, only a small amount; but NEVER copy the "heart" or
"creative essence" of a work -- that's infringement!) [small logo to
indicate entire site ]

4. What is the effect of this use on the potential market for, or
value of, the copyrighted work? (This is the most important question
of the four; did the copying or use deprive the copyright holder of a
sale? Copying should not harm the commercial value of the work.) [no,
in your case seems to be the answer]

[source: http://www.sc.edu/beaufort/library/fairuse.html  ]

So, it seems like you are more or less in the clear. HOWEVER, one of
the things we have been learning recently is that copyright laws and
trademark disputes are constantly changing the legal landscape of this
issue. Your best best would be to check the "legal" section of the
websites you are concerned about and see what they specifically say in
terms of using their logos. Most large websites have these and they
are linked off of the main page of their web site. As an anecdotal
aside, I have seem many sites who link in this manner and do not seem
to be putitng their sites in jeopardy, though some sites frown upon
"deep linking" [linking to articles off the front page removing
contextual features intended to be part of the design of the page]
when adding a link back.

For more reading on this subject, Stanford University has compiled a
wonderful set of links to current and past fair use issues and is one
of the more complete and timely archives of such material available.
Please see:

http://fairuse.stanford.edu/

Thank you for writing, and good luck with your web site.

jessamyn-ga

google searches used: "fair use" copyrighted logos trademark
://www.google.com/search?num=30&hl=en&safe=off&q=%22fair+use%22+copyrighted+logos+trademark

"Copyright does not protect ideas, titles, names, short phrases, works
in the public domain, mere facts, logos and slogans (these are
protected by trademark), blank forms that collect information rather
than provide it, and URLs, (i.e., links to a web site)" [source:
http://www.sc.edu/beaufort/library/fairuse.html ]

I strongly disagree with jessamyn-ga's response. That response is
appropriate for copyrighted material. Let's say, in your example, CNN
referred to your website. You could (via fair use) excerpt a
small/reasonable portion of the CNN article. You could not (without
CNN's permission) reprint the entire article.

However, logo usage is quite different. A logo is the property of a
company. Fair Use doesn't apply. For example, the <a
href="http://www.nbc.com/nbc/footer/Privacy_Policy.shtml">NBC
policy</a> on the use of its logo (I'm using "fair use" to reprint a
small portion of NBC's entire privacy policy) states: <i>9.
Trademarks--NBC, the NBC logo, and the NBC Peacock are trademarks of
National Broadcasting Company, Inc., and all other trademarks, service
marks and trade names used on the Service are the property of their
respective owners, and all of the above trademarks may not be copied,
downloaded or otherwise exploited without the permission of NBC or the
owner of such trademark, service mark or trade name, except as
explicitly permitted in Section 1 above.</i>

A good site to check out is <a
href="http://www.nolo.com">nolo.com</a>. See especially <a
href="http://www.nolo.com/lawcenter/ency/article.cfm/objectid/CEDEFCC8-4998-4C6C-8C1A189769480100/catID/D8932879-DC34-43DF-BF65FC92D55FEE5D">this
discussion</a> on trademark protection.

There's a further problem, as well. CNN--or any other company's logo
you use--might also assert that their logo would appear to be an
implied endorsement of your site and its content...not just an
indication of the source of the one item. And that opens a whole other
can of worms.

You can certain <i>say</i> "...as reported on CNN..." I'd personally
stay away from saying "...as <i>featured</i> on CNN..." as this
suggests a different level of attention and, again, might suggest an
endorsement that CNN had never made.

Before you do anything, check with an intellectual property lawyer for
guidance.

Good luck.

I disagree with wordsmth-ga's response on trademarks.  Nominative fair
use (use of the trademark to refer to the owner, such as CNN) has been
found to be protected if:

   1.The product or service in question must be one not readily
identifiable without use of the trademark. (In other words, the mark
is such that you cannot refer to it without using it. You could not
refer to Windows 95 without using the mark, for example.)
   2.Only so much of the mark may be used as is reasonably necessary
to identify the product or service. (This relates to the extent of
use, similar  to the category #3 issue in copyright law, above.)
   3.The user must do nothing that would, in conjunction with the
mark, suggest sponsorship or endorsement by the trademark's owner.
(This is the heart of it all since it relates to the likelihood that a
consumer is going to be confused as to the potential endorsement of
the mark's owner.)

http://www.cll.com/articles/article.cfm?articleid=32, quoted there
from "New Kids on the Block v. News America Publishing, Inc.", 971
F.2d 308 (9th Cir. 1992)

Search terms: Trademark fair use