A commercial organization has a website on which the company's products are presented. Is it possible to place on the site information about the addresses of stores of retail chains (where you can buy these products) with the placement of images of trademarks (logos) of these retail chains without their permission? For example, "You can buy our products in the stores of the Auchan retail chain (photo of the Auchan trademark)". Do I need permission from the trading network in this case to place their trademarks (logos) on our website?
Answer
Yes, on the site you can place information about the addresses of retail chain stores where you can buy your products.
In this case, logos (trademarks, trade names) will be used for purposes not related to the activities of the manufacturer, i.e. your firm is not a competitor of these networks.
In accordance with the Decree of the Presidium of the Supreme Arbitration Court of the Russian Federation dated 01.12.2009 No., the mere mention of a trademark in articles, interviews, news or other materials on the site is not considered a violation, even if homogeneous products are sold on the site, provided that there is no risk of mixing them with products the owner of the mark.
“Economic entities that are engaged in the provision of services in a particular area often place in their own advertising the trademarks of those manufacturers in respect of whose goods specific services are provided. In addition, there are cases in practice when advertisements for certain goods and services contain trademarks of manufacturers whose goods do not belong to the object of advertising, but with which the advertised goods can be compared. At the same time, actions to exercise the exclusive right to a trademark include, among other things, the placement of a trademark in offers for the sale of goods (performance of work, provision of services), as well as in announcements, on signs and in advertising ().* In turn advertising that contains untrue information about exclusive rights to the results of intellectual activity and equated means of individualization legal entity or goods, is recognized as inadequate ((hereinafter - Law No. 38-FZ)). Therefore, in practice, questions often arise: is any placement of someone else's trademark in one's own advertising considered to be its use, if not, what are the conditions and limits for the admissibility of such placement?
IT IS POSSIBLE TO USE ANOTHER TRADEMARK IF IT DOES NOT LEAD TO MIXING THE ACTIVITIES OF THE ADVERTISER AND THE RIGHT HOLDER
The issue of placing other people's trademarks in advertising is not regulated in Russian legislation. However, the legislation of a number of countries provides for rules that directly qualify the unauthorized placement of someone else's trademark in advertising as an offense. For example, the US Trademarks Act 1946 and the UK Trademarks Act 1994 contain the relevant provision. English jurisprudence and doctrine reflected the prohibition on the unauthorized use of someone else's trademark, including a phonetically similar word designation, in radio advertising as capable of misleading the consumer.
However Russian companies often use other people's trademarks in their advertising. Sometimes such situations lead the copyright holder to court. An example is the following case. The auto center-seller of cars in outdoor advertising and in advertising its activities in the print media used the trademarks of a large auto concern. The concern considered the actions of the company illegal and applied to the antimonopoly authority with a corresponding statement. However, the antimonopoly authority did not see a violation of Law No. 38-FZ in the actions of the auto center. The concern appealed this decision the antimonopoly body in a judicial proceeding, while the courts issued conflicting decisions.
After repeated consideration of the case, the courts of three instances found it illegal to place other people's trademarks in their own advertisements in the print media, and to place similar advertisements through outdoor advertising as lawful. However, the Presidium of the Supreme Arbitration Court of the Russian Federation canceled the judicial acts adopted in the case and issued a new decision. The decision of the antimonopoly authority regarding the refusal to recognize outdoor advertising using trademarks as a violation of Law No. 38-FZ was declared invalid. Judicial acts regarding the refusal to recognize as lawful the company's actions to distribute advertising in the media using trademarks were upheld.
At the same time, the Supreme Arbitration Court found that when placing outdoor advertising, the car service did not indicate in this advertisement its field of activity in servicing cars, which could lead to confusion between the concern and the car service. Whereas the actions of the car service in placing advertisements in the print media were recognized as legal, since this advertisement clearly indicates the scope of the advertiser's activities, and such advertising could not lead to confusion between the concern and the car service ().
This position was later enshrined in “On Certain Issues in the Practice of Application by Arbitration Courts of the Federal Law “On Advertising”” (hereinafter referred to as Resolution No. 58).
Quote:“When applying these norms, the courts should proceed from the fact that the use of a trademark lawfully introduced into civil circulation is also possible for other persons in advertising their trading activities for the sale of this product. At the same time, the lack of permission from the copyright holder to use a trademark that individualizes a product does not in itself entail the recognition of unreliable advertising of services provided in relation to this product, if the consumer perceives such advertising as an advertisement of an independent service provider "(). *
This approach is consistent with the legal approach of foreign states. For example, in French law, certain limits are set on the exercise of the rights of the trademark owner in relation to comparative advertising, namesakes, third-party rights to a trade name, a sign. A similar exception to the general rule on the inadmissibility of the free use of a trademark by third parties is made for manufacturers of spare parts for goods of other manufacturers, for service providers in relation to goods of other manufacturers.
A FOREIGN TRADEMARK CAN BE USED IN COMPARATIVE ADVERTISING WITHOUT THE CONSENT OF THE RIGHT HOLDER
Comparative advertising is one of the most common types of advertising aimed at approving and demonstrating the advantages of one brand of a product by comparing it with one or more brands of another product of a given class or type. This type of advertising is one of the most effective, since such advertising does not speak about the abstract properties and merits of the advertised object, but about the specific advantages of the advertised product compared to similar products on the relevant market.
At the same time, in such advertising, the advertiser often places someone else's trademark, which individualizes the goods with which the object of the advertisement is compared. Sometimes such a comparison looks incorrect and may be an act of unfair competition.
However, as in the previous case, Russian law does not regulate the possibility of restricting the rights of trademark owners that are used by other persons in their own advertising, in particular in comparative advertising.
Note that this issue also arose in judicial practice. Thus, the manufacturer of the drug Flucostat, JSC Pharmstandard, filed a lawsuit against Pfizer International LLC for compensation for the illegal use of the trademark. The lawsuit was motivated by the fact that Pfizer International LLC, being the manufacturer of the Diflucan drug, placed a table in its leaflet in which the drug it produced was compared with other drugs, including the drug Flucostat.
The court refused to satisfy the claims, indicating that a trademark is a means of individualization of goods (services), and the exclusive right to a trademark can be exercised to individualize goods (services) in respect of which the trademark is registered. However, the defendant advertised his product, and not the plaintiff's product, the mention in the flyer of the defendant of the designation "Flucostat" is not aimed at individualizing the defendant's product, but at comparing the defendant's product with other medicines ().
At the same time, there are opposite approaches in judicial practice. Thus, in one of the cases, the cassation instance formulated the following conclusion: advertising of any product (including the indirect use of a trademark in advertising) must imply the existence of legal grounds for using the corresponding trademark ().
The plot of the case on the suit of the LOUIS VUITTON MALLETIER Company against the Nidan Juices Open Joint Stock Company on the obligation to stop the violation of the plaintiff's exclusive rights to the pictorial trademark in the form of stylized flowers is interesting. As the plaintiff pointed out, the defendant used a trademark owned by the plaintiff in his "Meeting" commercial for Sokos juice. In this case, the use consisted in the fact that during the commercial, bags and suitcases appeared in the frame, marked with images of stylized flowers, which are confusingly similar to the figurative trademark owned by the plaintiff. The courts granted the plaintiff's claims.
Such an approach of the court seems unreasonable, since, according to the Civil Code of the Russian Federation, not any placement of a trademark in an advertisement can be considered its use. At the same time, according to klama, this is information disseminated in any way, in any form and using any means, addressed to an indefinite circle of people and aimed at drawing attention to the object of advertising, generating or maintaining interest in it and promoting it on the market. The law also discloses the concept of an advertising object, which is a product, means of individualization of a legal entity and (or) a product, a manufacturer or seller of a product, the results of intellectual activity or an event (including a sports competition, concert, competition, festival, risk-based games, bets). ) to attract attention to which advertising is directed.
Since one of the main purposes of a trademark is the individualization of a product (service), a trademark placed in an advertisement can be considered used if its placement is aimed at individualizing the object of the advertisement. Accordingly, any indirect placement in advertising of someone else's trademark does not require the consent of the copyright holder, since this trademark cannot be considered used.
When qualifying specific information contained in an advertisement as an indirect object of advertising, it is also important to take into account the explanations of the Supreme Arbitration Court of the Russian Federation given in Resolution No. drawing attention to him. Accordingly, if an advertisement, in addition to the main object of advertising, also contains someone else's trademark, which does not form the consumer's interest in the product (service), which individualizes the trademark, then in this case the placed trademark cannot be recognized as an indirect object of advertising.
If advertising uses goods bearing trademarks as a prop or other technical and (or) creative equipment, and these goods are lawfully introduced into civil circulation directly by the copyright holder or other persons with his consent, then their use cannot be considered a violation of exclusive rights trademark owner in accordance with the Civil Code of the Russian Federation.
Currently, judicial practice has formed a legal position, according to which it is allowed to place other people's trademarks in one's own advertising. And such placement of someone else's trademark will not be considered the use of a trademark, provided that it is not aimed at individualizing the object of advertising and its presence is not capable of causing the consumer to associate the object of advertising with the owner of the placed trademark.
Sergei Petrovich Rogozhin,
K. Yu. PhD, Associate Professor, Judge of the Intellectual Property Rights Court
Advertising that contains information that does not correspond to reality, in particular, about exclusive rights to the results of intellectual activity and equivalent means of individualization of a legal entity, means of individualization of goods, is recognized as unreliable (). The advertiser (customer) is responsible for violation of this requirement.
Actions to exercise the exclusive right to a trademark include, among other things, the placement of a trademark in offers for the sale of goods (performance of work, provision of services), as well as in announcements, on signs and in advertising ().
The Plenum of the Supreme Arbitration Court of the Russian Federation indicates that the use of the trademark of a product lawfully introduced into civil circulation is also possible for other persons in advertising their trading activities for the sale of this product. At the same time, the lack of permission from the right holder to use a trademark that individualizes a product does not in itself entail the recognition of unreliable advertising of services provided in relation to this product, if the consumer perceives such advertising as an advertisement of an independent service provider ().
When placing advertisements, it is necessary to take into account the norm of Art. 1515 of the Civil Code of the Russian Federation. Thus, a person who has infringed the exclusive right to a trademark in the performance of work or the provision of services is obliged to remove the trademark or a sign confusingly similar to it from the materials that accompany the performance of such work or the provision of services, including from documentation, advertising, signboards. .*
The person producing and (or) placing advertising, acting reasonably and in good faith, must check the legality of their use in order to avoid any future legal problems with other persons in case of violation of their rights by the distributed advertising, including in the case of protection of their exclusive rights on the results of intellectual activity. This is especially important because in the cases provided for by Art. 38 of Law No. 38-FZ, it will also be liable for violation of Part 3 of Art. 5 of Law No. 38-FZ, if it is proved that the violation occurred through his fault.
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Will the placement on the site of trademarks (logos) of partners with whom your company has business relations be recognized as a violation of the law?
The question raised covers both cases of selling someone else's goods through the Internet site, and a simple mention of a partner in the list of customers. Therefore, its solution can be approached from several sides, since the purpose of placing signs, as well as their type legal protection, will be very different. Accordingly, various legislative rules are applicable to such situations: on trademarks, copyrights, unfair competition, and so on. Let's take a closer look at the main options.
Trademark Law
A designation will become a trademark if it is registered with Rospatent of the Russian Federation or, by virtue of international registration, is protected on the territory of Russia.
Although the exclusive right to a trademark is formulated quite broadly: as the authority to use it in any way at the discretion of the owner (clause 1, article 1484 of the Civil Code of the Russian Federation), nevertheless, its main purpose is to secure a monopoly on the individualization of certain goods, works and services, for which such mark is registered.
Therefore, paragraph 3 of Art. 1484 of the Civil Code establishes: " No one has the right to use, without the permission of the right holder, designations similar to his trademark in relation to goods for the individualization of which the trademark is registered, or similar goods, if as a result of such use there is a possibility of confusion».
If the mark is used for other purposes not related to the goods (works, services) of the owner of the mark, then there will be no violation of trademark law. For example, your organization does not sell the same goods, works or services (or similar ones) as your partner, but simply provides him with any services (advertising, design, forwarding, information, etc.) or sells him your products, then you may well indicate the partner's trademark on the page with the list of customers.
The mere mention of a trademark in articles, interviews, news or other materials on the site will not be considered an infringement, even if the site sells homogeneous products, provided that there is no risk of confusion with the products of the owner of the mark. This conclusion is enshrined in the Resolution of the Presidium of the Supreme Arbitration Court of the Russian Federation dated December 1, 2009 No. 10852/09: “... verbal reference to someone else's trademark is not a use of that mark».
The next option for the acceptable use of someone else's mark on the site without the consent of the owner is already associated with the use of the goods of the owner of the mark, but not for the purpose of selling it. For example, if an organization provides after-sales service, repair of such goods. Here, a prerequisite is that the owner of the mark himself does not carry out such activities, because. otherwise there will be competing activity. This conclusion is confirmed by judicial practice. Thus, the Federal Arbitration Court of the Moscow District in its Resolution dated 10.10.2011 in case No. A40-118198 / 10-143-1016 emphasizes: considering that the plaintiff is a manufacturer of goods, and the defendant is a service organization that repairs equipment, and not only that produced by the plaintiff , but also by other manufacturers, the courts correctly proceeded from the fact that the plaintiff and the defendant do not produce homogeneous goods and do not provide homogeneous services, i.e. are not competitors, which excludes the infringement of the claimant's exclusive rights to the trademark».
Another ground that exempts from liability for placing someone else's mark on the site, also noted in the said decision of the FAS MO, is related to the principle of exhaustion of rights, enshrined in Art. 1487 GK. According to her, " is not a violation of the exclusive right to a trademark, the use of this trademark by other persons in relation to goods that have been introduced into civil circulation in the territory Russian Federation directly by the copyright holder or with his consent". That is, if a service organization repairs equipment officially sold in Russia by a manufacturer or with his consent, then such a service organization can quite easily indicate the marks of the respective manufacturers on its website. In this case, the service organization itself does not sell such equipment, but only informs potential clients that provides its service. The main condition is that the goods must be legally put into circulation on the territory of Russia (and, taking into account the creation of the Customs Union, in any of the countries of such a union: in Russia, Kazakhstan or Belarus). This condition can be specified in the rules of the organization on its website.
A more complicated situation arises if an organization, for example, an online store, resells goods legally put into circulation in Russia. The rule on the exhaustion of the exclusive right to a trademark is also applicable to it - if the product was officially imported into Russia or is already sold in Russia by the manufacturer himself or with his consent, then the online store can indicate the trademark on the product description page, as well as place it there a photograph or other image of the product containing the mark. How can the owners of an online store make sure that the goods they sell are introduced into Russian civil circulation with the consent of the manufacturer, because not all intermediaries are ready to disclose the entire chain of movement of goods? Naturally, there are no problems if the store has a direct contract with a Russian or foreign manufacturer or its official dealer/distributor. Note that such a product must be purchased on the territory of Russia (or the Customs Union), since when buying it from a manufacturer or dealer directly abroad, special rules will apply, which I will discuss later.
If the goods are purchased from any intermediary that does not have the status of an official dealer, then it is extremely difficult to verify the consent of the manufacturer. It remains only to insure against possible unforeseen situations by entering into the contract a condition that the seller of the goods guarantees the consent of the manufacturer to sell the goods in Russia, otherwise the seller undertakes to take part in a possible litigation on the side of the buyer and compensate him for all losses incurred by the buyer, as well as fines and other sanctions paid to the manufacturer of the goods or the competent authorities.
As an example, I will cite the Resolution of the Federal Antimonopoly Service of the Moscow District dated May 30, 2011 No. KG-A40 / 4516-11-1,2,3,4 in case No. A40-92046 / 10-15-772. The defendants posted on the websites (online stores) they administer illustrations of the plaintiff's products with the plaintiff's trademark applied to them without obtaining any permissions. At the same time, the defendants referred to the fact that they did not independently import, distribute and sell products, but intended to purchase them from the plaintiff-manufacturer, therefore, the principle of exhaustion of rights should apply. The courts supported the manufacturer: the demonstration of products on the website is an offer for sale, while the defendants did not provide evidence of the legal origin of the products offered and intentions to purchase them from the manufacturer, therefore, their actions were a violation of trademark law. Let me explain that in that court case, the plaintiff suspected the defendants of selling counterfeit products using his trademark.
Let us return to the question of the exhaustion of rights in the case of the acquisition of goods abroad with subsequent importation into the Russian Federation. Since in this case the manufacturer himself does not put the goods into circulation on the territory of Russia, his written consent (in the contract or in another document) is required for the import of goods into the Russian Federation and its subsequent sale using the original trademark. Therefore, if a product is purchased abroad for sale through an online store in our country, then the written consent of its manufacturer is required. Moreover, the consent of the manufacturer itself is also required when the goods are purchased abroad from its official dealer, unless the manufacturer authorized the dealer to give consent for the export and sale of products in the Russian Federation.
Judicial practice makes an exception only in relation to goods purchased abroad by an individual for personal use. In this case, if such a person wants to sell such a product in the future, then its sale in Russia using the manufacturer's mark is possible without the consent of the owner of the mark. The exception will not apply if individual initially acquires goods not for personal use, but for further resale (evidence of this may be, for example, the purchase of goods in a quantity greater than is necessary for normal use).
Conclusions: it will not be a violation of the exclusive right to place a trademark on an Internet site, with the features indicated above, without the consent of the owner of the mark in the following cases:
1) If the activity of the site owner is not related to the goods, work or services of the trademark owner (or similar ones).
2) If the trademark is verbally mentioned on the site and there is no risk of mixing the site owner's products with the products of the mark owner.
3) If the site owner performs operations in relation to someone else's goods and at the same time the trademark owner is not engaged in the same activity.
4) If a product is offered for sale or sold through the website, which has been introduced into civil circulation in Russia by the owner of the mark or with his consent.
Competition Law
The use of someone else's trademark, even if it is permitted by law, should not lead to unfair competition. The rules on what actions are classified as unfair competition are enshrined in Article 14 of the Law of July 26, 2006 No. 135-FZ “On Protection of Competition”, based on Article 10.bis of the Paris Convention for the Protection of Industrial Property. Article 14 specifically prohibits the use of someone else's trademark in a manner that:
- entails the dissemination of false, inaccurate or distorted information that could cause losses to an economic entity or damage its business reputation;
- will lead to misleading in relation to the nature, method and place of production, consumer properties, quality and quantity of goods or in relation to its producers;
- associated with an incorrect comparison by an economic entity of goods produced or sold by it with goods produced or sold by other economic entities;
- represents the sale, exchange or other introduction into circulation of goods, if the means of individualization of a legal entity, means of individualization of products, works, services were illegally used (i.e., for example, if a trademark is placed on someone's products without the consent of the owner trademark; in this regard, it is useful to fix in the contract for the purchase of goods the obligation of the seller to guarantee the legal placement of the trademark on the delivered goods, if there is any doubt about its origin, in order to recover from the seller the losses incurred by the buyer in case of disputes);
And, as a general rule, paragraph 2 of Article 14 of Law No. 135-FZ prohibits unfair competition associated with the acquisition and use of the exclusive right to means of individualization of a legal entity, means of individualization of products, works or services. It is important to emphasize that if, based on the above provisions, an organization has the right to use someone else's product on its website, then this does not lead to the acquisition or use of the exclusive right to a trademark. In the absence of a special agreement on the alienation of an exclusive right, such a right belongs only to the owner of the rights to the trademark and does not transfer to other persons.
It should not be forgotten that a number of trademarks can be protected by copyright at the same time, since they are original verbal or pictorial works. A verbal designation can include, for example, the name of a work or part of it (poetic line, etc.), if they meet the requirements of paragraph 7 of Art. 1259 of the Civil Code, i.e. are the result of independent creative work of their author.
Registration of a designation as a trademark does not terminate its protection by copyright. And the owner of the rights to such a designation is free to choose how to protect the violated right: if the exclusive right to the trademark is not applicable, he can use the copyright exclusive right.
Therefore, the legitimate use of someone else's designation under the provisions of trademark law may lead to copyright infringement of the owner of the designation. Copyright laws do not provide for such exceptions as for a trademark. Placing a work on an Internet site is considered to be bringing it to the public, and therefore, it is covered by the exclusive right belonging to the author (subclause 11, clause 2, article 1270 of the Civil Code).
How to prevent possible claims of the owner of the mark? Unfortunately, there are no simple recommendations here. Works protected by copyright are not registered anywhere, are not entered into a single database, and are protected from the moment they are created without any formalities. Therefore, the obligation to pre-evaluate the designations posted on the site in terms of their originality and creative performance rests with the owner of the Internet resource. If claims are nevertheless made by the copyright holder, it remains to prove that the disputed designations were not subject to copyright protection.
A similar situation may arise if the designation is not registered as a trademark at all, and is used by its owner in the form of a logo or brand. Such a logo may be a protected work. And then, according to the mentioned Art. 1270 of the Civil Code, its use on the Internet is possible only with the consent of the copyright holder. In this case, the author's right will be subject to the usual copyright restrictions on the exclusive right, the so-called cases of free use. True, they are practically not applicable to the situations considered in this article, since they have little to do with commercial transactions and almost do not apply to the use of such objects on the Internet.
Privacy Policy
One more important circumstance is often forgotten. The ability to place on the Internet site someone else's trademark, logo or other designation may be limited not only by law, but also by contractual terms. The agreement may expressly provide for a ban on the placement of any signs on the Internet by the other party.
If there is no such condition in the text, but the agreement contains a confidentiality clause, then it may also mean a de facto ban on the use of the sign of one of the parties on the network. For example, if a confidentiality clause requires secrecy not only of the commercial terms of the contract, but also of the very fact of its conclusion, then the placement of the partner's designation on the Internet site will lead to a breach of the contract and to corresponding contractual or legal liability.
As you can see, before deciding to place any partner designation on the site, you need to decide on the following:
- what kind of designation is this;
- how it will be used on the site;
- what kind of business activities your organization and partner firm are engaged in;
- for the individualization of which goods the mark is used;
— what legislative or contractual conditions govern the use of the designation;
- whether the designation will be used on the site in a way that constitutes unfair competition.
The answers you receive will determine your course of action. Although in any case, the consent of the owner of the mark to the use case that is interesting to you will prevent possible future disputes.
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From the author: The logo is a key element of website design and is important for the business as a whole. On the site, it is the first point of contact with the visitor. In business, it sets you apart from other competitors, attracts attention, and increases the fame of your company. Of course, for this logo to be effective. And today we will talk about what an effective logo is, as well as how to create it!
A bit of theory: the concept of logo effectiveness
The main functions and capabilities of the logo have already been mentioned above. This little icon has the power to generate stunning results if it suits your business and likes it. target audience.
In fact, a logo is a powerful tool to attract new customers, as well as encourage them to contact you again and again. They turn to you, are satisfied with the product or service, remember you by the logo, and then return to you, and do not go to a competitor.
The result is growing like a snowball. And if we will not question the quality of the goods or services offered by your company, then the quality and effectiveness of the logo is an additional and subject to you factor. It will allow you to achieve recognition of the target audience at a relatively low cost.
How to create a website yourself?
The problem is that novice businessmen rarely think about such optimization of their expenses. Such companies most often either do not have a logo at all, or it is drawn “on the knee” in something like WordArt. Of course, this does not mean that an effective icon must be created by a famous designer or design studio. More precisely, it would be nice - such people usually understand what they are doing, but such a decision entails considerable costs. And often they are too heavy for a novice businessman.
We will consider another way: how to create an effective logo with minimal cost, given the specifics and some tricks of this process.
Who and how draws logos?
We will talk about the development of the logo concept below. In the meantime, let's briefly dwell on the consideration of who and how will subsequently bring your idea to life. The most obvious options are:
Each of these options has its own advantages and disadvantages. And if you look for the ratio of maximum benefit and minimum costs, then creating a logo yourself and / or using a logo designer in this case looks the most attractive.
After we figured out what are the ways to get a logo, let's go directly to the description of the process of creating a logo concept and the important conditions for its implementation in an attractive and effective icon.
To do this, you need to go through several steps:
Getting inspired and looking for ideas for a concept
Developing the right concept is the basic condition for creating an effective logo. You need to decide what you want to see on the icon of your company, as well as how to use it to convey the desired message to the target audience.
This stage can also be called the most difficult and responsible, since the final result depends on it to the greatest extent. Creative stupor, throwing from one extreme to another, lack of ideas or their excess - this is not the whole list of problems that can be encountered during the development of a logo concept.
Where can you find inspiration and interesting ideas?
First of all, analyze the sites of competitors. Compare the success of your fellow companies and their logos - composition, colors, shape, message, and so on. Based on this, you can determine whether you should focus on them or, on the contrary, push off and create a completely different logo.
Next, we advise you to look into the online logo galleries. Such web projects are replenished every day with hundreds of new options, among which there will surely be icons similar in theme with an interesting implementation of ideas similar to yours. Start your creative search with Dribbble, and then focus on your own feelings.
Don't forget about the target audience as well, because their likes and dislikes are one of the most important factors in shaping the concept of an effective logo.
Interview your customers or just think about what they like, what social, age, gender and other groups they belong to, as well as what makes your site and the company as a whole attractive to them. These basic characteristics are often a key clue when choosing a graphic design and logo composition.
Also don't forget to experiment. Open any image editor or online logo maker and feel free to create embodiments of various ideas.
This is convenient and will save you a lot of time, because you can visually assess the viability of a particular option. And based on one or more of these “drafts”, you can later create the final version of the logo.
Types of logos and composition options
All logos are divided into three types:
iconic (a symbolic image is presented on the logo - a silhouette, an abstract image, a letter, an abbreviation or any other recognizable iconic figure);
text (word, phrase or brand name);
combined (a combination of a symbol and text is the most universal and best remembered).
For obvious reasons, the third type of logo is the most popular and effective. Often they also use text logos for the site. They are relatively easier to create than combined or iconic ones.
But no matter which option you find right for your business, there are a number of basic principles creating a good logo. Keep in mind: it's okay if one of them does not fit the format of your company. This is a kind of "standard", which should be guided as much as possible in each individual case. Let's take a look at these principles.
General rules for creating an effective logo
1. Simplicity as possible
The simpler your logo is, the easier it is to place it not only on your website, but also on the surfaces of any area - from a small business card to a huge street banner. Refrain from using too many colors, ornate fonts, and images with lots of small details - they will simply get "lost" when placing the icon on small surfaces.
How to create a website yourself?
What technologies and knowledge are needed today to create websites on your own? Learn Intensive!
In addition, a logo overloaded with small details is less remembered by the target audience. Strive for minimalism as much as possible, like Apple or Nike.
2. Creativity can be your trump card
The original logo is better remembered - that's a fact. If you have the desire and opportunity, you can make an attempt to stand out from the competition in this way. So try browsing through the collections of creative icons and get an idea that could help your logo become truly unique. It can be an original icon or font, an interesting combination of icons and text, creating a 3D effect, and so on.
Of course, being creative is not easy. But after a couple of not very successful options, you will surely get a noteworthy logo.
3. Versatility
A high-quality and effective logo always looks good, whether it's a business card, website, billboard, t-shirt or something else. Try to enlarge/reduce the logo in graphics editor print if possible. See how the logo looks, are all the elements visible in detail, is everything okay? If so, then you have created a quality logo.
4. Durability
Try not to use trendy effects, fonts and images when creating a logo. Fashion comes and goes, but the logo should serve you throughout the life of the company with unchanging effectiveness. This way you can avoid unnecessary expenses.
The Nike logo was created in 1975
If the activity of your company still requires you to be “on the same wavelength” with the fashion trends of the season, be wiser and do not make them the basis of your logo. Develop a kind of base, which in the future you can slightly change in accordance with the next trends, but at the same time without losing the overall brand awareness for your target audience.
5. Ease of perception
If you place the logo somewhere (website, business card, etc.), leave enough free space around it so that the viewer willy-nilly draws attention to the icon. In this case, the logo is better perceived and remembered.
Let's talk about color
Color is something that can greatly enhance the effectiveness of a logo, or negate it. It all depends on whether you choose it correctly.
There are a number of well-established associations that you can use to create a positive image of the company in the eyes of the target audience. For example, red is strength, vigor, aggression, while blue is associated with reliability, calmness and stability.
Below is an infographic that summarizes preferred color schemes for various business sectors. Based on it, analyze what color combinations your competitors use and how successful it is.
Of course, the right logo color will not automatically make your business more profitable, your customers more loyal, and your website more visited. But he is quite capable of emphasizing the necessary qualities of your company and non-verbally announcing them to the target audience.
Color is also functional, and this can be judged by the degree of eye strain, the frequency of attracting attention and overall readability. Therefore, you should keep in mind that:
it is better not to use more than two primary colors on one logo (use their shades to add volume);
care must be taken to ensure sufficient free space around the logo;
the color of the logo should, if not match with colors site (business cards, billboard, letterhead), then at least look harmoniously against this background.
Are there inscriptions? Need a font
If your logo contains inscriptions (company name, motto or something else), then you need to choose the right font for them. In this regard, there are only two basic recommendations:
Readability
The font must be legible regardless of the size of the logo. Therefore, try to refrain from ornate negative-kerning options when the characters are too close together, otherwise the lettering on the business card or badge will turn out to be illegible. It is also worth bearing in mind that in some cases positive kerning (increasing the spacing between characters) can create a feeling of incoherence when the logo is placed on a large surface, such as a T-shirt.
Refrain from combining
Ideally, there should be only one font per logo. Worst case, two.
More will bring chaos and create a feeling of slovenliness, which is unlikely to positively affect the perception of customers of your company. Of course, you can combine fonts, but if you are a beginner, then there is a chance that you will not do it very well.
Avoid innuendo and inconsistencies in the logo: people should immediately understand what your company does. Exceptions are allowed only in some cases of creativity, but even then try to foresee everything possible options interpretations.
Do not be afraid to experiment and do not get hung up on one version of the logo. Create 3-4 different layouts and ask employees, colleagues or clients which one seems the most attractive. In the process of such a survey, interesting details may come to light.
The optimal background for a logo is transparent, with rare exceptions. Such a decision will make it easier for you to further place the logo on a colored substrate. The image format for placement on the site is PNG or GIF.
Save the logo to various formats. For placement on the Internet - PNG, GIF or JPEG, for printing - PDF, EPC.
We hope that the recommendations described above will help you create an effective logo for your company. Get the maximum result at minimum cost using the Logaster online service - a convenient tool for bringing the most original ideas to life!
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Of course, it cannot be argued that usability depends only on the location of the logo, this is not the only reason on the way to high conversion. There are other important factors that should not be forgotten. However, the position of the logo on the page is one of the main criteria, which is simply unreasonable not to take into account. In order not to be unfounded, here is a translation of the research of the leading expert in the digital strategy of the Nielsen Norman Group Kathryn Whitenton (@kwhitenton). Katherine has a lot of usability research to her credit, incl. eye-tracking technology for users in the US, Europe, Asia, and Australia. We will also tell you why the creators of the MayBeCat website have departed from all the canons and placed the logo in the center of the page. Let's see how the position of the logo affects the usability of the site.
Let's start with the critical principles of good usability:
- Informs about the current location: placing the logo in the header of the site allows the user to quickly determine which site he is on. Informing the user about his exact location is mandatory for sites where with just one click he can go to the site of another company.
- Easy navigation: The site logo is a clickable element that takes the user back to the Home page. If this condition is met, the user can return to the Home Page to “start over” wherever they are. It is convenient to return to the Main page on complex sites, divided into many subsections, where the user can “get lost”. If a user performs several different tasks on the site, it is also convenient to start a new activity by returning to the Home page first (even if there is constant global navigation to switch between tasks, it is more convenient for users to return to the Home page first).
- Strengthens the position of the brand: the more often the user sees the brand logo, the faster he remembers it (this is one of the laws of human memory). High brand awareness means that a large number of people are buying your product or service. And ceteris paribus, a potential buyer is more likely to choose a product of a familiar company than a product of an unfamiliar brand.
The location of the logo at the top left of the screen is so familiar to site visitors that deviating from this pattern can be detrimental to the site's usability.
The influence of the location of the logo in the center of the page on the usability of the site
To determine if logo placement affects user behavior, a study was conducted:
Participants: 14 fashion sites, 8 of them contain the logo in the central upper part of the page, 6 in the left upper corner screen. On click, each logo leads to the main page of the site.
Number of people: 50; each worked with one site and performed two tasks.
The main question of the study: can the user in one click get to home page?
Tasks:
- Select a product worth up to $100 and add it to the shopping cart (start from the Home page);
- Return to the Main page (start from the first task completion page).
Tool: each action of the participants was analyzed using the UserZoom website usability testing tool.
To calculate the results, only the data of the second stage were used.
Result: On sites with a “left” logo location, the user was 6 times more likely to reach the Home page in one click (with a chi-square value of p<0.05).
The chart below shows the percentage of participants who could not reach the Home page in 1 click. Users were 6 times more likely to make mistakes when the logo was centered.
The percentage of those who failed the task “Get to the Main page in 1 click”
As mentioned above, the ability to return to the Home page is critical for users. Even if each page of the site has an expanded navigation menu, most users return to the Home page first.
An analysis of the behavior of site visitors shows that the location of the logo in the center is a big problem for many users. For example, on the Koshka website, many users clicked on the icon $29 located in the left corner more often than the logo in the center.
Green highlighted parts of the page that users clicked on to get to the Home Page.
Research data has shown that it is more convenient to return to the Home page with a clickable brand logo in the upper left corner. But it is worth noting that even with this arrangement, errors occurred - when users did not understand that the logo was clickable, especially with flat design (a minimalist approach to logo design emphasizes usability and is more focused on the end user). The way out in this case is to create a clickable logo along with valid link(home link).
Logo in the center and brand recall
Below is a study of the impact of the logo location in the center on brand recall.
Members: websites of 4 boutique hotels (The Library, Refinery, The James, The Nolitan); for each site, we analyzed 2 ways to position the logo (left and center).
Number of persons: 128; Each was given 2 tasks.
The main question is: does the location of the logo (left or center) affect brand recall?
Tasks:
Result: The location of the logo does not affect brand awareness. The brand recognition rate of four different hotels with different logo placements is approximately the same.
This means that brand awareness is influenced by factors such as the color, writing style, and visibility of the logo symbol, rather than its placement. In the case of The Nolitan hotel website, the background image of the website is symmetrical. And visually, the center is the best place to place the logo.
As another good example of the location of the logo in the center, we present the site http://maybecat.ru. Galina Svetlova, CEO of MayBeCat, explains why the logo has taken center stage:
“We chose this location on our website because it is beautiful. We moved away from all the canons and placed the logo in the center of the page. The main objectives of the site are to be present on the Internet and to inform about our services. The bulk of our company's orders come through other sales channels, we just wanted to like the site. Of course, the most advantageous location of the logo is on the left. Especially fornative speakers whose writing is arranged from left to right: whatever is drawn there, the user will understand that this is a brand logo, everything else is design chips. But sometimes the design of the site is such that the location in the center or even in the right corner is really justified.”
Conclusion:
Research has shown that the best location for a logo is in the top left corner of a page. This is a familiar position for almost every user, and the more the site design deviates from the user's expectations, the worse the site's usability becomes.
By virtue of Art. 1229 of the Civil Code of the Russian Federation, the right holder may, at his discretion, allow or prohibit other persons from using the result of intellectual activity or means of individualization. The absence of a prohibition is not considered consent (permission). Paragraph 3 of Art. 1484 of the Civil Code of the Russian Federation specifically prohibits the use of a trademark protected in the Russian Federation without the permission of its owner. Such a ban is due precisely to the threat of mixing producers of homogeneous goods, works, services for consumers.
Under a license agreement, one party - the owner of the exclusive right to a trademark (licensor) grants or undertakes to grant to the other party (licensee) the right to use the trademark within the limits specified by the agreement, with or without indicating the territory in which use is allowed, in relation to a certain area of business activity (Article 1489 of the Civil Code of the Russian Federation). The licensee is obliged to ensure that the quality of the goods produced or sold by him, on which he places the licensed trademark, meets the quality requirements established by the licensor. Thus, the license agreement is concluded to grant the licensee the right to use the designation, which is a trademark, in order to sell homogeneous goods (works, services).
Since the organization does not plan to use a trademark on its website to designate the goods it produces that are homogeneous in class to the one for which the trademark is registered, it is not required to enter into a license agreement with the copyright holder or ask him for permission to post such information on the website . By itself, the placement of such information on the Internet site does not violate the exclusive rights of the trademark owner and is not an illegal use of the trademark (clause 3, article 1484, article 1515 of the Civil Code of the Russian Federation). This is also confirmed by judicial practice (see, for example, the decisions of the Federal Antimonopoly Service of the Moscow District dated October 10, 2011 No. F05-9237 / 11, the Presidium of the Supreme Arbitration Court of the Russian Federation dated December 1, 2009 No. 10852/09).
Similarly, the issue of placing the company name of the partner organization on the Internet site is resolved. A trade name, like a trademark, is a means of individualization. If a trademark is intended to individualize the goods of legal entities, then the company name is used to individualize the legal entity itself (Article 1474 of the Civil Code of the Russian Federation).
Posting information on the Internet site that an organization with a particular company name is a partner of the site administrator organization does not constitute the use of a company name. Note that granting any person the right to use the company name of an organization, including under a license agreement, is not allowed (Article 1474 of the Civil Code of the Russian Federation). A violation of the exclusive right to use the company name of a legal entity will be the use of a name that is identical to the company name of this legal entity or confusingly similar to it, if these legal entities carry out similar activities (Clause 3, Article 1474 of the Civil Code of the Russian Federation). In the present case, there are no such circumstances.
Thus, the placement of the information specified in the question on the Internet site does not in itself violate the rights of the owner of exclusive rights to use the trade name and trademark and does not require any permission from this right holder.
At the same time, if such information is accompanied by the placement of information discrediting the business reputation of the copyright holder, the latter has the right to demand their refutation, unless the person who disseminated this information proves that they are true (clauses 1, 7 of article 152 of the Civil Code of the Russian Federation) . A person in respect of whom information discrediting his business reputation is disseminated, along with the refutation of such information, has the right to demand compensation for the harm caused by their distribution, including the so-called "reputational" (i.e., non-material) damage (paragraph 5 of article 152 Civil Code of the Russian Federation). In addition, if information discrediting the business reputation of another person, including a competitor, is placed in an advertisement, such an advertisement is recognized as unfair (part 2 of article 5 of the Federal Law of March 13, 2006 No. 38-FZ "On Advertising").