Wikipedia:Use of trademarks

Wikipedia articles may contain trademarks or service marks for products or services, typically names and logos, as part of the educational content of an article. Because Wikipedia is not using these names to describe the product or service it is offering, its use of these trademarks is not trademark infringement. However, content reusers should be careful when reusing Wikipedia content. The use of any trademark does not indicate endorsement of the holder by Wikipedia or the Wikimedia Foundation, nor vice versa.

For trademark holders

Many trademark holders are concerned about the use of their trademarks on Wikipedia, due either to the risk that a consumer may mistake an article for an official website, or to the risk that use of trademarks as ordinary words may accelerate trademark genericization. Although editors are not legally obliged to correct such usage, you may take a number of affirmative steps:

• If your trademark is being used as a word on Wikipedia and is not used as such elsewhere, this is generally considered poor style. You can leave a note on the talk page requesting revision. Supply suggested alternative wordings.
• If an article appears to endorse or offer a product or service, appears to claim endorsement by your company, or appears as though it was written by your company, you can again request revision on the talk page to eliminate this impression.
• Articles on products or services should contain external links to official websites. If these do not already exist, you can feel free to add them. This will help direct readers interested in purchasing an item to your official website.

If these steps cannot resolve your concerns, please visit Wikipedia:Contact us to reach a volunteer for more assistance.

For editors

Trademarks can generally be used freely, and should follow Wikipedia:Manual of Style/Trademarks. Do not imply that Wikipedia endorses or is endorsed by the named product, that Wikipedia is offering a product with that name, or that the article was written by the vendor of the product.

Good: Coca-Cola is a carbonated soft drink.

Bad: Wikipedia loves Coca-Cola, the tastiest beverage in the world.

Bad: This article is supported by Coca-Cola.

Bad: To purchase Coca-Cola, contact us at the following e-mail address.

Bad: For more of our soda products, please visit this link.

Using trademarks as ordinary words is acceptable where such use is already widespread in reliable sources and/or in common parlance, but depending on the situation may be poor style, either because the trademark is too informal, or because it is misleading (e.g. "photoshopped" may imply an image was created in Adobe Photoshop, when in fact it was created using a competing product). Good editorial judgement should be exercised.

The use of trademarks as words which are not already used as such is coining a neologism, which is generally considered poor style; Wikipedia should not be leveraged as a mechanism to attempt to genericize specific trademarks.

For content reusers

Some articles may contain text or images that are controlled under trademark laws in one or more jurisdictions. Before using this content, please ensure that you have the right to use it under the laws which apply in the circumstances of your intended use. You are solely responsible for ensuring that you do not infringe the rights to this trademark. See our general disclaimer.

External links

• Trademark Electronic Search System (TESS) at the United States Patent and Trademark Office