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MSSC Logo Usage Guidelines
Since its formal recognition by the federal National Skill Standards Board in March 1998 as the “Voluntary Partnership” for all sectors of manufacturing under the National Skill Standards Act, the MSSC has used the same logo. The MSSC has since used this logo as its brand nationwide in repeated communications to a sizeable community of stakeholders including: industry, academia, associations, workforce boards, unions, and state and federal agencies. The MSSC logo is a recognized symbol of its training, assessment and certification system based on nationally validated, industry defined, and federally endorsed manufacturing standards.
MSSC greatly values its community and strongly advocates the proper use of its logo in promoting its products and services and as a symbol of their quality and source. The proper use of its logo is listed in the guidelines below.
Rules for the use of the MSSC logo
- In all cases MSSC must authorize the use of its logo.
- An MSSC-certified Assessment and Instruction Center (MAIC) may use the logo on promotional materials i.e., brochures, mailings, posters etc.
- A MAIC may also use the logo on articles of clothing, bags, cups, pens, badges, etc. as long as they are not intended for retail sale. If the intent is for retail sale then a user fee must be established with MSSC.
- A MSSC-certified Assessment Center may use the logo only for promoting MSSC assessments.
- A MSSC-certified Assessment Center that has adopted or developed its own MSSC solution courses and is not using MSSC-authorized courses the MSSC logo may be used on promotional materials ONLY if they also list the availability of MSSC-authorized courses.
- As noted above, the only organizations that have the right to use the MSSC logo in any fashion, unless specifically authorized by the MSSC, are MSSC-certified Assessment and Instruction Centers (MAICs), an MSSC-certified Assessment Center or an organization that offers MSSC-authorized courses.
- The MSSC logo must be placed on attractive professionally designed materials.
- Logo may not be altered in any way to change the general outward appearance of the logo. This includes, but is not limited to, the following:
- Proportion—The logo must be kept proportionate in size. If electronically resized through a graphic editing program, the logo shall not be unevenly stretched, skewed, or distorted in any fashion. During the resizing process, the “constrain proportions” or “maintain aspect ratio” option must be used.
- Logo Area—The area of the logo (image area) may not be altered by addition or layering of images, text or any element whatsoever so as to alter the appearance of the logo.
- Misrepresentation—No other logos or elements may be introduced so as to give the impression that the logo represents an endorsement, strategic alliance, affiliation, or partnership, unless authorized by the MSSC
- Color—The colors of the MSSC logo may not be altered. Further, the background should be either white or a very light color that is complimentary to the blue MSSC coloring.
- Redistribution— Logo may not be redistributed through any third party. Redistribution and/or use of the logo through a third party violates the licensing agreement outlined above and can bring forth appropriate legal action.
Using an MSSC Logo on Your Website
Using an MSSC logo on a website requires authorization from MSSC with several attached conditions.
- You must first provide the URL (web address) of the site
- You must agree that MSSC reserves the right to have you remove the MSSC logo from your website for whatever reasons MSSC deems necessary. This includes, but is not limited to, misrepresentation, fraud, rendering the logo to be disproportionate or altering its colors, or combining the logo with any other corporate or organizational logo or text so as to infer the impression of a partnership, strategic alliance, or other business affiliation.
Overview of Trademark Law
We are providing a general overview of trademark law to help you understand the guiding principles and goals of these guidelines. This summary and the guidelines are not legal advice.
What does trademark law protect? Trademark law protects the public's ability to rely on trademarks for information about the source and quality of products, services, programs and technologies. To protect the public from misleading or confusing information, the law requires trademark owners to monitor proper use of their marks and to "police" against use of identical or closely similar marks for similar goods, services, programs or technologies. Trademarks are compared based on similarities or differences in sight (visual appearance), sound, and meaning, as well as other factors such as whether the products are related. A mark that looks similar, sounds similar, or has a similar meaning to an established mark and that is used on similar products might be an infringement.
(MSSC NOTE: Not all uses of a trademark result in potential confusion. MSSC allows and even encourages many "fair uses" of its trademarks.)
What is a service mark? A "service mark" is a trademark that indicates the source of a service or program, rather than a product. For example, Java is a trademark when it identifies a software product, while Java One is a service mark because it identifies the conference, which is a service. In these guidelines, we use the term "trademark" to refer to both trademarks and service marks. Many trademarks, like Java, apply to a wide spectrum of offerings, including both products and services, from the same source.
What is trade dress? "Trade dress" describes a collection of attributes or features of a product or service (often its overall presentation) and/or its packaging. Trade dress can include color palettes, patterns and textures of material or packaging, or other thematic elements that collectively indicate the source of the product or service to the public.
What is a fair use? Referring to someone else's trademark in a way that does not confuse the public or tarnish the mark may qualify as "fair use." Examples include discussions of a product by name in a news article, product review, or comparative advertising. To make a "fair use," you must accurately identify the original product or service without misleading the public about its source or its affiliation with your own products or services. Using someone else's trademark as the name of your own product or service (including freeware or free information services) is never fair use. U.S. law does not recognize any fair use of logos. If you want to use one of our logos, you will need a permission or license.
How do owners establish trademark rights? In the U.S. and some other countries that recognize "common law" rights, an owner can establish trademark rights simply by using a mark in connection with products or services. (No rights will be established if the mark infringes an existing, or senior, mark.) Outside the U.S., most countries require a user to register trademarks with the national trademark office (a government agency), before rights are recognized.
What is an infringement? Infringement occurs when someone (the "junior user") uses a trademark that is identical or confusingly similar to an existing trademark (the "senior trademark") owned by a senior user, on similar goods, services, products or technologies without permission or a license from the senior user. Courts use many factors to evaluate the likelihood that the public would be confused about the source of either trademark user's products or the relationship between the two trademark owners. The infringement can be intentional, e.g., when the junior user is counterfeiting goods, or inadvertent, e.g., when the junior user is trying to make fair use, but doesn't satisfy all the legal requirements.
What is required for a trademark license? A trademark owner may license the use of a trademark to other companies or individuals for use on their own products. The license agreement must allow the trademark owner the right to control the quality of the licensee's products by setting and enforcing quality standards.
How can you trademark words in the dictionary? It all depends on how close the trademark owner's products are to the dictionary definition. For example, apples (the fruit) do not have anything to do with computers, so Apple is a distinctive, strong mark for computer products and services, identifying one unique source of those products and services. The mark Apple would be a little less strong, but still protectable for the hypothetical company, Apple Healthcare because there is a logical association between apples and health (the saying "an apple a day keeps the doctor away"). Since the word "apple" does not directly describe health care services, it can still identify one unique source of those services. No fruit grower, however, could claim exclusive trademark rights in the name "apple" for its fruit. "Apple" is a generic term in that industry and is not protectable as a trademark. It does not identify any unique source of the fruit. For this reason, no one apple grower can trademark the word "apple" and prevent competitors and other members of the industry from using it in their company and product names.
MSSC POINT OF CONTACT: Any questions concerning the use of the MSSC should be directed to the following: Neil Reddy, General Manager, 1410 King Street, Alexandra, VA 22314. Tel. 703-739-9000. Email: reddyn@msscusa.org.
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