Using logos on your website: is it allowed?

Questioner

Can I place the logos of companies on my website as a reference. Employees of those companies have followed training courses with me and I want to show which companies employees follow training courses with me by showing those logos on my website. Is this allowed?

Lawyer

My previous answer has been deleted, as it was too simplistic. Apologies for that. However, I still advise to obtain prior permission, because you are actually trying to piggyback on the good name of the company for which you requested training. Maintaining a good customer relationship therefore seems essential to me.

Lawyer

You are not using the logos to distinguish your goods and services. In that case, there can only be a question of trademark infringement if there is unfair advantage taken in the reputation of a trademark, or if there is detriment to the distinctive character or reputation of a trademark. The trademark owner must then prove that he will sell less as a result of your advertisement; I see no indication of that in what you write. Apart from trademark infringement, mentioning the trademark can under certain circumstances be 'unlawful', but I read nothing in what you write that indicates that. Something similar was recently discussed in a lawsuit that was started by Halfords (http://bit.ly/2cz1RY0). The best tip I can give is: why don't you just ask your customers if they find it a problem?

Lawyer

Logos and other figurative marks are protected by copyright. Displaying someone's logo or brand can therefore be an infringement of copyright, even if it is for non-commercial purposes. Here too, the right to quote offers a solution. For example, you may use a logo in an article about the product or company in question. If you criticize a commercial, or write an article about trademark law, you may show excerpts from such a commercial to illustrate the commercials you are talking about. And in comparative advertising you may also show a logo in a businesslike manner, if that is necessary for the comparison. You will also have to be careful that it is not a trademark, because then you will have to deal with trademark law, because they are registered and protected by the use of third parties.