Guidelines for Third Party Use of Google Brand Features
Use of Google Brand Features
General Information
Although we'd like to accommodate all the requests we receive from users who want to add a touch of Google to their sites, we are passionate about protecting the reputation of our brand as an objective and fair provider of search results. That means we have to turn down many requests because sites imply that Google is endorsing them or is otherwise affiliated with them. The same applies if Google's trademarks, logos, web pages, screen shots, or other distinctive features ("Google Brand Features" or "Brand Features") are associated with objectionable material, as determined by Google.
These Brand Features can be used only pursuant to these Guidelines, our Terms and Conditions, and for the specific purposes for which Google has given permission. If you have a written agreement with Google that specifically addresses how you may use its Brand Features, you don't need to go through the approval process here unless you want to do something other than what has been authorized in your existing agreement. Otherwise, the only time you can use Brand Features without advance written permission is if there is clear and express language on our website stating that you can use those Brand Features without first obtaining permission, such as is the case with our search boxes.
When you use any of our Brand Features, you must always follow the Rules for Proper Usage included in these Guidelines. In addition, Google may provide you with written requirements as to the size, typeface, colors, and other graphic characteristics of the Google Brand Features. If we provide these requirements to you at the time of our approval, you must implement them before using our Brand Features. If we provide these requirements to you after we initially gave our permission, you must implement them within a commercially reasonable timeframe.
Trademark Basics
What is a trademark?
A trademark is a word, name, symbol or device (or a combination thereof) that identifies the goods or services of a person or company and distinguishes them from the goods and services of others. A trademark assures consumers of consistent quality with respect to those goods or services and aids in their promotion.
Why is it important to use marks correctly?
Rights to a trademark can last indefinitely if the owner continues to use the mark to identify its goods and services. If trademarks are not used properly, they may be lost and one of the company's most important assets may lose all of its value. Rights may be lost not only because of a trademark owner's improper use of the mark, but through improper use of the trademark by the public.
Rules for Proper Usage
Things to do:
- If you are using a Google trademark, distinguish the trademark from the surrounding text in some way. Capitalize the first letter, capitalize or italicize the entire mark, place the mark in quotes, use a different type style or font for the mark than for the generic name.
- If you do not capitalize the entire mark, always spell and capitalize the trademark exactly as they are shown in the Google Trademarks and Suggested Accepted Generic Terms below.
- Use the trademark only as an adjective, never as a noun or verb, and never in the plural or possessive form.
- Use a generic term following the trademark, for example: GOOGLE search engine, Google search, GOOGLE web search.
- Use only Google-approved artwork when using Google's logos.
- If you are using a Google logo on a web page, there must exist a minimum spacing of 25 pixels between each side of the logo and other graphic or textual elements on your web page.
- Normally, an unregistered Google Brand Feature should be followed by the superscripted letters TM or SM to give notice that the company claims trademark rights in the term. A registered Google Brand Feature should be followed by the symbol ® to identify the term as a registered trademark. In advertising copy, notice of trademark rights may be provided in a footnote format – e.g., by placing an asterisk adjacent to the Google Brand Feature and placing an appropriate notice at the bottom of the page on which the asterisk appears. Example: *GOOGLE is a trademark of Google Inc.
Things You Can't Do
- One of the conditions for all uses is that you can't mess around with our marks. Only we get to do that. Don’t remove, distort or alter any element of a Google Brand Feature. That includes modifying a Google trademark, for example, through hyphenation, combination or abbreviation, such as: Googliscious, Googlyoogly, GaGooglemania. Do not shorten, abbreviate, or create acronyms out of Google trademarks.
- Don’t display a Google Brand Feature as the most prominent element on your web page.
- Don’t display a Google Brand Feature in any manner that implies a relationship or affiliation with, sponsorship, or endorsement by Google, or that can be reasonably interpreted to suggest editorial content has been authored by, or represents the views or opinions of Google or Google personnel.
- Don’t display a Google Brand Feature on any web site that contains or displays adult content, promotes gambling, involves the sale of tobacco or alcohol to persons under twenty-one years of age, or otherwise violates applicable law.
- Don’t display a Google Brand Feature in a manner that is in Google's sole opinion misleading, unfair, defamatory, infringing, libelous, disparaging, obscene or otherwise objectionable to Google.
- Don’t display a Google Brand Feature on a site that violates any law or regulation.
- Don’t frame or mirror any Google page (including the page that appears in response to a click on the Google logo or Google search box).
- Don’t incorporate Google Brand Features into your own product name, service names, trademarks, logos, or company names.
- Don’t copy or imitate Google's trade dress, including the look and feel of Google web design properties or Google brand packaging, distinctive color combinations, typography, graphic designs, product icons, or imagery associated with Google
- Don’t adopt marks, logos, slogans, or designs that are confusingly similar to our Brand Features.
- Don’t register Google trademarks as second-level domain names.
- Don’t use Google trademarks in a way that suggests a common, descriptive, or generic meaning.
- Trademark rights vary from country to country. Some countries have severe criminal and civil penalties for improper use of the registration symbol. Therefore, don’t use the registration symbol (®) in countries where the mark has not been registered.
Google Trademarks and Suggested Accepted Generic Terms
The following are some of the trademarks owned by Google Inc. and the suggested generic terms for those trademarks.
- AdSense™ advertising service
- AdSense For Content™ program
- AdSense For Domains™ program
- AdSense For Print™ program
- AdSense For Search™ program
- AdWords™ advertising service
- AdWords Authorized Resellers™ program
- AdWords Editor™ campaign management application
- Android™ mobile technology platform
- Blogger™ web publishing service
- Broadcast Yourself™ service
- Citizentube™ channel
- Claim Your Content™ content monitoring tool
- Closed Log Avails™ tool
- Dalvik™ virtual machine
- Dmarc™ advertising service
- Dodgeball™ social networking service
- Feedburner™ services
- Feedflare™ service
- Gmail™ webmail service
- Goog 411™ service
- Google™ search or search engine
- Google Ad Manager For Advertisers™ service
- Google Adsense™ advertising program
- Google Advertising Professionals™ program
- Google Adwords™ advertising program
- Google Alerts™ email update service
- Google Analytics™ web analytics service
- Google Answers™ research service
- Google App Engine™ platform
- Google Apps™ service
- Google Audio Ads™ service
- Google Base™ online database
- Google Blog™ weblog
- Google Blog Search™ service
- Google Book Search™ service
- Google Calendar™ calendaring service
- Google Catalogs™ catalog search
- Google Chart Api™ product
- Google Checkout™ payment and billing service
- Google Code™ open source developer site
- Google Code Search™ search engine
- Google Compute™ feature
- Google Content Network™ service
- Google Co-Op™ platform
- Google Custom Search™ service
- Google Custom Search Engine™ service
- Google Dashboard Widgets™ software
- Google Data Api™ protocol
- Google Desktop™ searching software
- Google Desktop Search™ search tool
- Google Diary™ product
- Google Directory™ web directory
- Google Docs™ program
- Google Earth™ mapping service
- Google Enterprise™ products
- Google Extensions™ for Firefox software
- Google Finance™ financial information service
- Google Foundation™ non-profit organization
- Google Friend(S) ™ newsletter
- Google Gadget Ads™ technology
- Google Gadget Center™ web page
- Google Gadgets™ technology
- Google Gears™ open source browser
- Google Glossary™ glossary service
- Google Grants™ program
- Google Groups™ usernet discussion forums
- Google Health™ program
- Google Image Search™ service
- Google Labs™ research division
- Google Mail™ webmail service
- Google Maps™ mapping service
- Google Mars™ mapping service
- Google Message Discovery™ email product
- Google Message Encryption™ email product
- Google Message Filtering™ email product
- Google Message Security™ email product
- Google Mini™ hardware
- Google Mobile™ wireless service
- Google Mobile Ads™ service
- Google Mobile Updater™ application
- Google Music Search™ service
- Google Music Trends™ service
- Google News™ news service
- Google News Alerts™ service
- Google Notebook™ tool
- Google Pack™ software download service
- Google Page Creator™ tool
- Google Patent Search™ service
- Google Personalized Search™ service
- Google Print Ads™ advertising program
- Google Product Search™ price comparison service
- Google Profiles™
- Google Reader™ feed reader
- Google Ride Finder™ taxi service
- Google Safe Browsing™ api
- Google Safesearch™ filtering
- Google Scholar™ scholarly texts search
- Google Search Appliance™ hardware
- Google Sets™ set prediction service
- Google Sidebar™ software
- Google Site Search™ service
- Google Sitemaps™ service
- Google Sites™ web application
- Google Sky™ program
- Google Sms™ mobile messaging service
- Google Store™ online store
- Google Suggest™ suggestion service
- Google Talk™ instant messaging service
- Google Toolbar™ search bar
- Google Transit™ trip planning service
- Google Translate™ translation service
- Google Trends™ tool
- Google TV Ads™ advertising program
- Google Updater™ application
- Google US Government Search™ service
- Google Video™ video search
- Google Voice™ communications service
- Google Web Accelerator™ software
- Google Web Alerts™ service
- Google Web Search™ features
- Google Web Security™ for Enterprise product
- Google Web Toolkit™ open source Java software development framework
- Google Webmaster Central™ landing page
- Google Website Optimizer™ tool
- Google Zeitgeist™ report
- Google ノートブック™ product
- Google 노트™ product
- Google 笔记本™ product
- Google 筆記本™ product
- Google 问答™ feature
- Google.Org™ non-profit foundation
- Googleモバイル 検索メール™ product
- Google 热榜™ service
- Google 网站导航™ product
- Grandcentral™ communications service
- iGoogle™ personalized homepage
- I'm Feeling Lucky™ search service
- Jaiku™ service
- Joga™ online community
- Keyhole™ mapping service
- Knol™ project or website
- Listen In™ feature
- Maestro™ audio systems
- Measure Map™ web analytics service
- One Number…For Life™ service
- Open Handset Alliance™ business alliance
- Opensocial™ developer api
- Orkut™ online community
- Pagerank™ algorithm
- Panoramio™ photo-sharing community
- Picasa™ photo organizing software
- Postini™ email solutions
- Recharge It™ Google.org car program
- Ringshare™ feature
- Sketchup™ sketching software
- Songnow™ channel
- Trendalyzer™ software
- Universal Search™ vision
- Urchin™ web analytics service
- YouTube™ user-generated content website
- YouTube Screening Room™ program
- Zingku™ service
- 出口易™ product
- 来吧™ product
- 生活搜索™ product
- 谷歌搜索联盟™ feature
- 谷歌来吧™ product
- 谷歌热榜™ service
- 谷歌生活搜索™ product