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Resource Licensing

Brand Logo Use Boundaries

Brand logos should be used only for real brand references, integrations, payment methods, customer or partner proof, or authorized collaboration. Confirm trademark and brand guidelines, avoid implied endorsement, do not alter shape or color casually, and provide accessible names.

brand-logotrademarklicenseaccessibility

Design Principle

A brand logo is not an ordinary icon. The code license of an open-source project, aggregator, or SVG package usually does not replace trademark, brand-guideline, endorsement-context, and usage-scope judgment.

Large Theory

The main risk in brand-logo use is not whether an SVG file can be downloaded. It is whether the use is truthful, accurate, and does not overstate a relationship. Integration lists, payment methods, customer walls, tech-stack badges, login buttons, and case-study pages can all use logos legitimately, but each case must answer whether the integration or partnership is real, whether brand guidelines permit the use, whether color/clearspace/variant is correct, whether permission is needed, and whether users may infer endorsement.

Small Points

  1. Separate brand reference, functional entry, social login, payment method, customer proof, partnership, and decorative background; only the first several usually have a clear purpose.
  2. Simple Icons, SVGL, SVG Repo, Iconify, and similar sources provide discovery or files; they do not automatically grant trademark permission or brand endorsement.
  3. Prefer official brand guideline or source URLs for color, clearspace, minimum size, prohibited modifications, and trademark symbols.
  4. Do not casually recolor, stretch, outline, shadow, place into button textures, or combine logos into a new mark.
  5. Accessible names should state the brand and action, such as GitHub integration or Continue with Google. A logo beside repeated visible text can be aria-hidden.
  6. Customer logos, partner logos, media logos, and testimonial logos need evidence or permission records; do not invent social proof with a fake logo wall.

Design Judgment

Logo use is ready when it answers why this brand belongs here, how users will understand the relationship, whether official guidance allows it, whether it implies endorsement, and what screen readers hear. When those answers are unclear, use a text name, generic icon, or wait for permission.

Implementation Notes

Record a logoUsage object for every brand logo: brand, purpose, sourceHref, officialGuidelineHref, license/trademark note, permissionStatus, allowedVariants, colorMode, minSize, clearSpace, accessibleName, noEndorsementCopy, lastChecked, and fallbackText. Integration pages can place logos beside real product names. Customer walls require evidence. Login buttons follow the corresponding brand button guidance. Logo strips should not auto-scroll without pause control.

Counterexamples/Risks

Treating SVGL or Simple Icons logos as free decorative patterns, recoloring GitHub into the product accent color, displaying customer logos without a relationship, showing Stripe on a payment button before Stripe is supported, using a social-login button with only a logo and no text, and running an unpausable logo strip.

Case Study

Simple Icons' disclaimer says the project is CC0 but that does not mean every icon in it is also CC0, and asks users to check individual icon licenses and brand guidelines. SVGL links each SVG to its product and states that permission must be obtained before using a logo. CC BY 4.0 also states attribution must not imply licensor endorsement. The reusable lesson is that brand-logo source, copyright license, trademark guidance, and endorsement context are four distinct layers.

Source Links

Simple Icons disclaimer: https://github.com/simple-icons/simple-icons/blob/develop/DISCLAIMER.md Simple Icons license: https://github.com/simple-icons/simple-icons/blob/develop/LICENSE.md Simple Icons: https://simpleicons.org/ SVGL: https://svgl.app/ Creative Commons CC BY 4.0: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ W3C Informative Images: https://www.w3.org/WAI/tutorials/images/informative/

Agent Directive

Before using a brand logo, confirm purpose, brand guidelines, trademark/license, real relationship, endorsement risk, and accessible name; when unclear, use text or a generic icon instead of automatically downloading for production.