Using someone else’s logo becomes illegal when it creates a likelihood of confusion. That’s the core legal principle. If your use of a logo could make an average person think you’re connected to, approved by, or are in fact the original brand, you’ve probably crossed the line into trademark infringement.
When Using Another Logo Crosses the Legal Line
Think of a company’s logo as its public face. It’s a powerful shorthand for everything the brand stands for—its quality, its reputation, its very identity. Trademark law exists to protect that identity, making sure that when you see a logo, you know exactly who you’re dealing with. The whole point is to prevent others from piggybacking on that hard-earned trust.
The central test in any dispute is always this: is there a “likelihood of confusion”? This isn’t about a fleeting moment of uncertainty. The question is whether a typical consumer in the marketplace would likely be misled about where a product or service is coming from.
The goal of trademark law is to prevent competitors from unfairly free-riding on the goodwill and reputation that a brand has painstakingly built. It protects both the business and the consumer from deception.
Let’s try a simple analogy. A logo is like a football club’s official jersey. Wearing that jersey to a match to show your support is perfectly fine; you’re clearly a fan, not a player. But putting that same official jersey on your own local team to compete in a league? That’s a completely different story. It creates confusion and implies an official connection that simply isn’t there.
To help you get a clearer picture of what’s allowed and what isn’t, here’s a quick comparison of common scenarios.
Permitted vs Illegal Logo Use Scenarios
| Scenario | Generally Permitted | Likely Illegal |
|---|---|---|
| News Reporting | Using a company’s logo in a news article about them. | Using a logo to falsely imply endorsement of your publication. |
| Comparative Ads | Displaying a competitor’s logo to compare products (e.g., “Our battery lasts longer than Brand X’s”). | Altering the competitor’s logo to make it look bad or misleading consumers. |
| Parody/Satire | Creating a comical version of a logo for satirical commentary. | Creating a similar logo for a commercial product that trades on the original’s fame. |
| Reselling Products | Using the logo of a brand you are legitimately reselling (e.g., a car dealer using the manufacturer’s logo). | Making your own branding look like you are the official manufacturer or an exclusive partner. |
| Review Sites | Using logos to identify companies or products being reviewed. | Creating a “Top Choice” badge with a logo, implying a formal partnership that doesn’t exist. |
This table is just a guide, of course. The specific facts of each case are what truly matter in the eyes of the law.
The Key Factors in Determining Confusion
When courts in the Netherlands and across the EU look at these cases, they weigh several key factors to decide if confusion is likely. While every situation is unique, they generally consider:
- Similarity of the Logos: How closely does your usage resemble the original in appearance, sound, and overall impression?
- Similarity of Products or Services: Are you operating in the same industry, or a related one where a consumer might logically assume a connection?
- Intent: Did you set out to deliberately mislead customers or cash in on the reputation of the original brand? While not always required, proof of bad intent is very damaging.
- Strength of the Trademark: Is the original logo highly recognisable and distinct in the market, like the Nike swoosh or the Apple logo? The stronger the mark, the more protection it gets.
Getting a handle on this foundational principle is the first and most important step. From here, we can dive into the specific rules, exceptions, and consequences under Dutch and EU law.
Understanding Trademark Law: The Shield Protecting Logos
To get to the heart of when using someone else’s logo is illegal, you first need to understand the legal shield that protects them: trademark law.
Picture a busy supermarket. Hundreds of products line the shelves, and logos are the quick, reliable shortcuts that help you pick your favourite brand of coffee or crisps without having to read every single label. That’s a trademark in action.
Trademarks essentially prevent chaos in the marketplace. They act as a unique identifier, assuring you that the product you’re buying is the real deal. This legal framework is precisely what stops a new soft drink company from using a red and white cursive script that looks suspiciously like Coca-Cola’s.
What Makes a Logo Legally Protectable?
Not just any design can be a trademark. To gain legal protection, a logo must be distinctive. It needs to be capable of identifying the source of goods or services and clearly distinguishing them from what others are offering.
Think about it this way: a generic icon of an apple for a fruit stand probably won’t get protection. But a stylised, bitten apple for a global technology company? That’s a different story entirely.
In our region, the Benelux Office for Intellectual Property (BOIP) is the official body responsible for registering these crucial marks. A registered trademark provides the strongest possible legal defence against misuse.
In the Netherlands, it is primarily illegal to use someone else’s logo when that logo is a registered trademark. Businesses here take this very seriously, as shown by the approximately 50,820 resident trademark filings in recent years. This highlights a strong local focus on brand protection.
The Core Test: Likelihood of Confusion
The central pillar of any trademark infringement case is a concept called “likelihood of confusion.” This is the legal system’s way of asking a simple, practical question: would an average consumer be confused, mistaken, or deceived about who made the product or where it came from?
It isn’t just about identical logos on identical products. Confusion can also arise if the logos are merely similar and the products are related. For instance, if you launched a new line of sportswear with a swoosh-like logo, you’d almost certainly cause confusion with Nike and land yourself in hot water.
The law steps in to protect both consumers from being misled and businesses from having their hard-earned reputation unfairly hijacked by others. It’s all about maintaining trust and fairness in commerce.
This principle is the foundation for determining whether logo use is illegal. A deeper understanding of https://lawandmore.eu/blog/intellectual-property-enforcement-netherlands-2025 can provide further context on how these protections are upheld in practice. For anyone looking to truly grasp trademark protection, knowing how to conduct legal research effectively is an invaluable skill.
Common Ways Logo Use Becomes Illegal
Understanding the theory behind trademark law is one thing, but seeing it in practice is what really makes the rules click. It’s in these real-world scenarios that you see how easily even good intentions can lead to serious legal trouble when it comes to using someone else’s logo.
The most obvious violation is, of course, counterfeiting. Imagine printing the Gucci logo on a batch of handbags you made yourself and then selling them. This is a clear-cut case of infringement because you are deliberately using a registered trademark on identical goods to trick customers into believing they’re buying the genuine article.
Another common pitfall is creating a false impression of endorsement or sponsorship. For example, if you place the logos of major Dutch banks on your financial advisory website without their permission, you’ve crossed a line. This tactic misleadingly suggests a formal partnership exists, which could unfairly influence a customer’s decision to trust your services.
Using Logos in a Misleading Manner
Illegal logo use often boils down to deception, even when it’s subtle. In our digital age, one of the most frequent violations involves using a competitor’s logo to divert their customers over to your own business.
Consider this: you run a local delivery service and buy online ads that prominently feature the PostNL logo. When someone searches for PostNL and clicks on your ad, they land on your website instead. This is illegal. You’ve essentially used another company’s trusted identity to capture their web traffic under false pretences, which directly causes consumer confusion.
An action like this doesn’t just confuse potential customers; it can seriously damage the original brand’s reputation and lead to lost business. That’s precisely why trademark law takes these matters so seriously.
The core issue isn’t just that you used the logo, but how you used it. If your use creates a false narrative about your relationship with the brand—be it sponsorship, affiliation, or origin—it almost certainly constitutes infringement.
Damaging a Brand Through Dilution
Sometimes, using a logo can be illegal even if there’s no direct competition or risk of customer confusion. This more nuanced area of law is known as trademark dilution, and it primarily protects famous and highly recognisable marks.
Dilution typically happens in two ways:
- Blurring: This occurs when a famous logo is used on completely unrelated products, which weakens its distinctiveness over time. For instance, using the Philips logo on a line of soft drinks would “blur” its strong, established association with electronics, gradually diminishing its unique identity.
- Tarnishment: This is when a famous logo is used in a context that damages its reputation. Placing the iconic Albert Heijn logo on a website that sells low-quality, unsafe products would tarnish the supermarket’s hard-won image of quality and trust.
In both of these cases, the harm isn’t that customers are confused about where the product came from. The damage is to the logo’s power and reputation itself—akin to a form of brand identity theft. Protecting a brand’s unique identity is as critical as safeguarding its operational methods; you can learn more about the broader scope of business protection in our guide to the Dutch law on the protection of trade secrets.
By recognising these common red flags—from blatant counterfeiting to subtle digital misdirection and dilution—you can better navigate the complexities of using logos and avoid costly legal missteps.
Exploring the Exceptions for Fair Use
While the rules around trademark infringement feel strict, they aren’t absolute. It’s not always illegal to use someone else’s logo. Both Dutch and EU law carve out specific situations where using a trademarked logo is perfectly permissible, often falling under the principle of ‘fair use’ or ‘fair dealing’.
These exceptions exist to strike a crucial balance. They weigh the rights of the trademark owner against the public’s interest in free expression, healthy competition, and the free flow of information. Without them, basic activities like news reporting, product reviews, and even satire would become legally treacherous. But make no mistake, these exceptions are not a free pass; they come with tight conditions.
The Core Principle: Nominative Fair Use
One of the most common and practical exceptions you’ll encounter is nominative fair use. This legal concept allows you to use a logo when it’s necessary to identify a specific product or service, especially when it’s otherwise difficult to describe.
Think of an independent car repair shop. They might display the logos of Volkswagen, BMW, and Peugeot on their sign. They aren’t pretending to be those companies; they are simply telling customers which brands of cars they service. This is a classic example of nominative fair use. The use is referential—it refers to the trademark holder—and doesn’t imply any kind of endorsement.
Similarly, a journalist writing an article about Shell’s latest quarterly earnings can legally display the Shell logo in the report. The logo is used purely to identify the subject of the news story, which is essential for clear communication.
Key Conditions for Fair Use
For your use of a logo to be considered fair, it generally has to pass a few crucial tests. While this isn’t an exhaustive legal checklist, these questions will help you gauge where you stand:
- Is the Use Necessary? Could you clearly identify the product or service without using the logo? If not, its use is more likely to be considered fair.
- Are You Using Only What’s Needed? You should only use as much of the logo as is reasonably necessary to identify the brand. Don’t make it more prominent than your own branding.
- Does It Imply Endorsement? This is the big one. Your use must not suggest any kind of official sponsorship, partnership, or approval from the trademark owner.
- Is Your Use Honest? The use must be truthful and not misleading. For instance, you cannot use a competitor’s logo in a way that unfairly disparages their brand or tricks customers.
The essence of fair use is honesty and necessity. The law permits referential use of a logo as long as it doesn’t create confusion or take unfair advantage of the brand’s reputation.
Other Important Exceptions
Beyond nominative fair use, a couple of other key exceptions are important to recognise, especially when it comes to public discourse.
Parody and Criticism
Creating a parody of a logo for satirical or comedic purposes is often protected. The key here is that the parody must be obvious, using the logo to comment on or critique the brand itself. This is very different from simply using a similar logo to sell a competing product.
Comparative Advertising
In the EU, it’s permissible to use a competitor’s logo in advertising to make a direct comparison between your products and theirs. However, this is tightly regulated. The comparison must be objective, truthful, and not misleading in any way, all to foster fair competition.
These exceptions show the law’s attempt to strike a careful balance. While a logo is a powerful piece of intellectual property, its protection doesn’t extend to stifling legitimate conversation, competition, or commentary. This same balancing act applies to other digital brand identifiers; you can discover more about the complexities of modern branding in our article exploring if hashtags can be trademarked.
The Real Consequences of Trademark Infringement
Thinking trademark laws are just guidelines you can bend is a dangerous game. It’s not a minor misstep; it’s a significant legal and financial gamble. When a trademark owner finds out you’re using their logo without permission, they won’t just let it slide. The process usually kicks off with a formal warning but can quickly spiral into serious penalties that could bring a business to its knees.
It often starts with a cease-and-desist letter. This isn’t just a polite request; it’s a formal, legally drafted document demanding you stop the infringing activity immediately. Think of it as a serious warning shot across the bow. Ignoring it is the fastest way to find yourself in a full-blown lawsuit.
If you don’t comply, the trademark owner will likely take you to court. This is where things get much more serious. Dutch courts have the authority to impose a wide range of penalties, all designed to halt the infringement and compensate the rightful owner for the damage caused.
Financial and Legal Penalties
The financial fallout from a trademark infringement lawsuit can be absolutely devastating. A court can issue an injunction, which is a legal order forcing you to stop using the logo right away. This could mean pulling all your products from the shelves, shutting down your website, or being forced into a complete rebrand overnight.
But it doesn’t stop there. The financial penalties can stack up quickly:
- Financial Damages: You could be ordered to pay the trademark owner compensation for the harm their brand has suffered because of your actions.
- Surrender of Profits: The court might demand that you hand over every cent of profit you made from using their logo illegally.
- Legal Fees: In many cases, the losing party has to cover the trademark owner’s legal costs, which can easily run into thousands of euros.
Long-Term Reputational Damage
Perhaps even worse than the immediate financial hit is the long-term damage to your business’s reputation. Being publicly dragged through a trademark infringement case paints your business as untrustworthy and unethical. This can shatter customer trust, scare off potential partners, and make it incredibly difficult to ever rebuild credibility in your market.
A trademark infringement lawsuit isn’t just a legal battle; it’s a public mark against your company’s integrity. The reputational damage can often last much longer than the financial penalties.
Logo infringement is a major issue here in the Netherlands, a key hub for EU trademark filings and disputes. A recent analysis showed that over 60% of contested trademark cases involved unauthorised logo use in commercial settings, hitting small and medium-sized businesses the hardest. Enforcement actions range from cease-and-desist orders right through to hefty damages claims.
At the end of the day, the consequences are far more than a simple slap on the wrist. They involve serious court orders, substantial financial penalties, and a lasting stain on your reputation. This is exactly why understanding when it’s illegal to use someone else’s logo is so incredibly important.
Frequently Asked Questions About Logo Usage
Even with a good grasp of the basics, real-world situations can throw up tricky questions about using someone else’s logo. Let’s tackle some of the most common queries to clear up any lingering confusion and help you make the right call.
Can I Use a Partner’s Logo on My Website?
You can, but only with their explicit permission. It’s a common mistake for businesses to assume that being a customer or a collaborator automatically gives them the right to pop a partner’s logo on their site. That’s simply not the case.
Displaying a logo without consent can create a false impression of a formal endorsement or a deeper partnership than what actually exists, which can easily mislead your audience. The proper way to go about it is to look for the company’s official brand guidelines or media kit. If you can’t find one, reach out to their marketing or legal team and get permission in writing before you even think about using their logo.
What Is the Difference Between Copyright and Trademark for a Logo?
While both can apply to a single logo, copyright and trademark law protect entirely different things. Getting your head around this distinction is crucial to understanding why logo misuse is usually a trademark issue.
- Copyright protects the logo as an original artistic creation. Think of it as guarding the actual creative design against being copied or reproduced without authorisation.
- Trademark protects the logo’s role in the marketplace. Its job is to stop other businesses from using a similar mark in a way that would confuse customers.
So, when you’re asking, “When is it illegal to use someone else’s logo?”, you’re almost always stepping into the realm of trademark law. It’s the legal shield that prevents a competitor from, say, using a similar logo to trick customers into thinking they’re buying from the original brand.
The simplest way to remember it is: copyright protects the art, while trademark protects the brand’s identity in commerce. Both are vital, but trademark infringement is the most common legal issue in logo misuse.
Is It Safe to Use a Logo from a Defunct Company?
This is a very risky assumption and a surprisingly common pitfall. Just because a company has closed its doors doesn’t mean its intellectual property is suddenly up for grabs.
When a company goes into bankruptcy or is acquired, its assets—including valuable trademarks—are often sold to another business. This new owner inherits all the rights to enforce that trademark. Using that logo without permission could land you in legal trouble with a company you never even knew existed.
Before you ever consider using a logo from a defunct business, you must do your homework. That means thoroughly researching the trademark’s current ownership status in official databases, like those managed by the Benelux Office for Intellectual Property (BOIP) or the European Union Intellectual Property Office (EUIPO).
Can I Use Logos for a School Project or Fan Art?
This area can be a bit of a legal minefield, where context is everything. Using a logo for a private school assignment that only your instructor will see carries an extremely low risk of any legal backlash.
The game changes completely, however, the moment money or wide distribution enters the picture. Selling fan art that features a protected logo is almost certainly trademark infringement. Why? Because you’re conducting a commercial activity and profiting from the recognition and goodwill of an established brand.
Even sharing non-commercial fan art online can be problematic. If your creation dilutes the brand’s identity or suggests an official connection that doesn’t exist, the trademark owner has grounds to take action. To stay on the safe side, it’s always best to steer clear of using official logos directly in any work that will be sold or shared widely.