Participant

Question

Need clarification on logo usage under extended license

Forum|Forum|4 years ago
May 28, 2021
3 replies
3762 views

Hello ASC,

I have created a logo for a client using one of Stock's vector graphics. The graphic is literally a logo with a text indicating "Company". When I reviewed Adobe's Additional Term for the Extended license, I discovered the following note (boxed in red), which feels like conflicting information.

Does it mean I can't use the graphic as a logo? Even though the graphic is a logo? Would love some clarification on this matter.

Licensing

This topic has been closed for replies.

J E L

Community Expert

This continues to be a grey area of law for some but it is easily avoided. There have long been questions about copyright issues in using stock vectors or clip art images in company logos. Unless a company buys the explicit rights for logo use from the original illustrator or copyright holder (not a third party agent or stock site) the company may not hold the full copyright of their own logo. Most companies use in-house or work-for-hire designers in the first place so they own the logo outright. I always recommend creating original logos directly for this very reason. As Test Screen Name writes below, discontinuing the term “logos” may help clear up the confusion a bit but the problem is clear information up front. For example, clear wording should state that using or incorporating someone else’s art or imagery in a company logo should always include complete and full permission to do so from the copyright holder. My two cents. Let us know what you find out!

Abambo

Community Expert

Unless a company buys the explicit rights for logo use from the original illustrator or copyright holder (not a third party agent or stock site) the company may not hold the full copyright of their own logo.

By @J E L

If you buy from a stock site, you never own the copyright. Even Adobe does not own the copyright. The original creator is still the copyright holder. What the buyer acquires is the right to use the asset according to the licence conditions. Other buyers acquire the same right to use.

Logos are specific original creations, where the buyer wants to have exclusive rights and access to the logo, including the right to register the logo as a trademark. If the logo graphics sources from stock, other stock buyers could not use the graphic any more or the trademark owner would lose his trademark. In both cases this would be a catastrophic situation also for the stock provider. You can't use stock material for logos for this precise reason.

The bad is, however, that Adobe (or Fotolia before) did not refuse assets during the vetting process, when the title or the keywords contained the word "logo". But I suppose this has changed, if I interpret the post here correctly.

ABAMBO | Hard- and Software Engineer | Photographer

J E L

Community Expert

@Abambo "If you buy from a stock site, you never own the copyright."

Yes, that’s pretty much correct. However, you can purchase the full copyright from an agency if the agency and/or the copyright holder is willing to do so. Often, agencies have acquired or purchased the copyright themselves from the original content creator through work-for-hire contracts or directly from the copyright holder. Stock agencies can, and do, hold copyright to a portion of their content. Obviously, there is a good reason for them to do so. They continually seek to commission work and wholly-acquire assets from libraries, collections, or individuals specifically so they can control the copyright. The cost to purchase a complete copyright (a buyout) from anyone is expensive, so, it’s very rare, but it does happen, especially when a company is willing to pay for having complete and exclusive ownership of the content. This typically only happens with rights managed images where the usage history of an image can be verified. I always hesitate to say never!

T

Test Screen Name

Legend

It doesn't say you can't make a logo, but it does say you can't make a trademark or service mark. That may well not suit your client; imagine becoming an international name and finding the logo that grew with you cannot be protected. Some have argued that "logos" should be removed from the catalog.

Abambo

Community Expert

That's what it says. You can't use a stock asset as a logo. A logo would need to get exclusive access to the asset. That's not possible. In my eyes, all those "logo" assets in the database should be purged from the database.

If you have acquired the asset, I suggest you contact Adobe Customer Care for a refund. Adobe customer care can be contacted by beginning a secure chat session at https://helpx.adobe.com/contact.html?rghtup=autoOpen. If the chat window fails to open, or is non-responsive, use a different device to start the interaction.

(see also here: https://community.adobe.com/t5/creative-cloud-services/how-to-contact-adobe-support/td-p/11875703 or here
https://community.adobe.com/t5/account-payment-plan/how-to-contact-adobe-support/td-p/11843852)

ABAMBO | Hard- and Software Engineer | Photographer

shereen44149649Author

Participant

Hello there. Since posting this thread, my client would stilll like to use the graphic but no longer as a logo. Unfortunately the image has been taken down from Adobe Stock. Can someone send me the vector image #12074025? I still have access to the standard license.

Abambo

Community Expert

Sorry, if the asset has been taken down, it is no more available. Taking down an asset may have more than one cause (the contributor deletes, Adobe deletes), but the basic effect of this is that the asset can't be downloaded any more. If you don't have a copy of it on your system, you should talk to your customer that it won't be possible to use that asset because the licence has been revoked. As for your situation, I would recommend contacting Adobe customer care for your lost asset point. Adobe customer care can be contacted by beginning a secure chat session at https://helpx.adobe.com/contact.html?rghtup=autoOpen. If the chat window fails to open, or is non-responsive, use a different device to start the interaction.

(see also here: https://community.adobe.com/t5/creative-cloud-services/how-to-contact-adobe-support/td-p/11875703 or here
https://community.adobe.com/t5/account-payment-plan/how-to-contact-adobe-support/td-p/11843852)

ABAMBO | Hard- and Software Engineer | Photographer

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