Legal Question in Business Law in Massachusetts

Re: Use of another company logo or name

In most cases you need permission. Some companies will give permission, most will not.

In some cases you do not need permission, for example if your t-shirt is a parody, or somehow incorporates a First Amendment protection.

Re: Use of another company logo or name

This kind of merchandising would be a trademark violation if done without the consent of the trademark owner, who is likely to land on you like a ton of bricks (i.e., you stand to lose all of your revenues plus attorneys' fees in the ensuing trademark enforcement litigation). Practically every company of any size and sophistication has a merchandising license program giving exclusive rights to particular licensees in categories of goods (T-shirts, ball caps, tote bags, etc.), for which the trademark owner collects royalties. These rights are quite valuable, and companies long ago stopped viewing merchandising as merely free advertising. Opportunities for merchandising licenses are often advertised to the industry in publications such as The Licensing Letter; there is also a licensing trade show every year in New York where licensees and licensors make deals.

Best wishes,

/

LDWG

.

Re: Use of another company logo or name

Use of another company's logo is a violation of trademark law. It is highly likely that they will start with a cease and desist letter and if you do not immediately comply will file suit against you seeking all revenues and profits and their attorney's fees.

You are best-off to get a license to use such material from the company you want to put on T-Shirts etc. Companies like Disney and Warner Bros. have entire sections of their legal departments that do nothing but file suits to stop people from dong what you want to do.