Customer wanting to use trademarked logo on their signage

[Stacey K]

The Chevrolet dealer across the street from me I'm SURE has permission to use the Chevy logos. They have been here for 50 years+. I do magnets for them for parades, etc. The large sign they have is lighted so another company does that. I handle the smaller stuff. I never worry about it.

If it was a used car dealership and not a professional long-standing dealer then I would be very hesitant.

 

[Bobby H]

New car dealerships do have permission to use brand artwork related to the make of vehicles they sell. But they have to follow brand guidelines on anything produced, even if it's just a throw-away banner for some fund-raising event. Really it's best to have the brand guidelines of a vehicle make even if a used car dealership is wanting signs made using a particular vehicle logo (that isn't a common scenario in my experience).

 

[JBurton]

Ya know what, best to play it safe. Use this one:

 

[visual800]

Id say just do it. GMC has their long line of issues anyway with their crappy vehicles they are putting out (as well as ford and dodge and others)

Several years ago a GMC dealership contacted me about 2 large signs, 4x10s with GMC logo on their used car lot canopy. I just did them, never had an issue. If they are a dealership and they sell the vehicles I dont see a problem I dont have time to be an attorney and backcheck everything that comes across the phone or email. I personally do not see how this could come back on you heir issue would more than like;ly be with the dealerhsip. A customer asked for something and you did it and got paid, thats my opinion.

 

[DL Signs]

Dealerships have the authority to use branding for lines they sell. If anything is corporate related, just make sure you use the proper logo, like if it carries the actual "GM" logo in addition to to any others, they updated that in 2021. Make sure you use corporate colors, don't manipulate, stretch it, or anything like that, keep logos to dimensional specs. They give a lot of latitude to dealers, and if a rep comes through and finds anything wrong, they'll put it on the dealer to fix it. We do stuff for a GMC and a Dodge dealership that has several locations, and have never had an issue.

 

[signbrad]

Many car dealerships use local shops for secondary signage. If the secondary signs display the exact same logo design as the main sign, the secondary sign would no more be a trademark infringement than the main sign. Trademark law does not specifically prohibit copying a mark. It forbids creating confusion among consumers as to the source of goods. If a GMC dealership displays secondary signs with the GMC mark, what confusion is caused?

It's true that copyright law prohibits copying without permission. But the GMC logo, consisting of three stylized letters, does not qualify for copyright protection. Copyright is not at issue.

However, what if the dealership is required to use only certain suppliers but they don't tell you this? If they violate an internal GMC policy, then they should not even be ordering signs from you in the first place. It's not an intellectual property issue. It's a policy issue. Make sure you have a legitimate purchase order from them and get your money. Let the PO include details, such as that the "logo will be created to comply with GMC branding guidelines." Of course, get a copy of the branding guidelines from the car goober, or ask for his corporate contact so YOU can request guidelines to save him the trouble. Tell him that you will make sure that he does not get in trouble with his corporate overlords.
A logo sign that does not comply with branding guidelines may not be considered infringement, but it could be considered trademark dilution, which is part of trademark law. Somebody in authority needs to sign off on the proofs for the job.

If an authorized dealership refuses to give you branding guidelines, or will not let you request them, that is suspicious. It's not that you will go to prison for duplicating a GMC logo for a GMC dealer—that's absurd—but you could be stiffed for the money.

Brad in Kansas City

 

[jochwat]

Ya know what, best to play it safe. Use this one:

This will not pass the brand guidelines book. The space surrounding all sides of the Chevrolet Bowtie Badge must be equal to the width of the middle stem of the badge. Clearly, the urine stream and splash are breaking into this space. This must be revised before being put into production. If not, you may be Found On Road Dead.

 

[gnubler]

If an authorized dealership refuses to give you branding guidelines, or will not let you request them, that is suspicious. It's not that you will go to prison for duplicating a GMC logo for a GMC dealer—that's absurd—but you could be stiffed for the money.

Thanks for your informative and ever-helpful post, Brad. Gino made a similar comment upthread. I revisited this thread because the customer suddenly came back about this project three months after our initial meeting. He's now requesting dimensional sign letters installed around the exterior of the building, gave me some renderings showing mockups of the signage, and wants to get it done "asap". No idea where the renderings came from. I asked for his GM Asset Central login info and he went silent again. Looking at a variety of other GM dealership images online I'm seeing a consistency in their building signage and would like to know the corporate specs so I know what to bid on.

Feeling like I should just pass on this one. Would you?

 

[somcalmetim]

Thanks for your informative and ever-helpful post, Brad. Gino made a similar comment upthread. I revisited this thread because the customer suddenly came back about this project three months after our initial meeting. He's now requesting dimensional sign letters installed around the exterior of the building, gave me some renderings showing mockups of the signage, and wants to get it done "asap". No idea where the renderings came from. I asked for his GM Asset Central login info and he went silent again. Looking at a variety of other GM dealership images online I'm seeing a consistency in their building signage and would like to know the corporate specs so I know what to bid on.

Feeling like I should just pass on this one. Would you?

Kinda seems like you are trying to go above your customers head...might annoy them...
Make sure to get your layouts signed off and approved by them before producing but it is their job to get these things approved internally not yours.
I have found that very few people at dealership level even have access to their current brand manuals let alone asset catalog website logins...even asking for the current vector logo is usually a chore for them to dig up.

 

[gnubler]

Kinda seems like you are trying to go above your customers head...might annoy them...
Make sure to get your layouts signed off and approved by them before producing but it is their job to get these things approved internally not yours.
I have found that very few people at dealership level even have access to their current brand manuals let alone asset catalog website logins...even asking for the current vector logo is usually a chore for them to dig up.

The brand manuals are for vendors and agencies, according to the sign up process. The customer initially contacted me because he said he was trying to order signage through corporate and months passed with no one getting back to him. So I tried signing up at GM Asset Central as a dealership vendor and got to the last step where it requested the GM contact's email address, asked my customer for it, and I haven't heard back. I'm trying to help him, not go over his head. The whole thing is convoluted and I'll probably refer him to a bigger shop.

 

[somcalmetim]

The brand manuals are for vendors and agencies, according to the sign up process. The customer initially contacted me because he said he was trying to order signage through corporate and months passed with no one getting back to him. So I tried signing up at GM Asset Central as a dealership vendor and got to the last step where it requested the GM contact's email address, asked my customer for it, and I haven't heard back. I'm trying to help him, not go over his head. The whole thing is convoluted and I'll probably refer him to a bigger shop.

Ya I know what the manuals are intended for but in practice the ones the dealerships have are almost always old and out of date. Corporate makes changes all the time and it costs money if they reissued manuals every time so they don't.
Even the brand asset websites are not always complete and up to date. A couple brand asset websites I was given logins for by dealership contacts seemed to be made for employees only, like he was supposed to download and give me what I need rather than letting me log in and get stuff myself..

In my experience, you get the best vector logos you can get out of your dealership contact to make your files. Then you give them drawings so that they can get approvals from who they need to. If they approve the drawings you do the work and get paid. If there is a problem that is between the dealership and corporate.

 

[signbrad]

Thanks for your informative and ever-helpful post, Brad. Gino made a similar comment upthread. I revisited this thread because the customer suddenly came back about this project three months after our initial meeting. He's now requesting dimensional sign letters installed around the exterior of the building, gave me some renderings showing mockups of the signage, and wants to get it done "asap". No idea where the renderings came from. I asked for his GM Asset Central login info and he went silent again. Looking at a variety of other GM dealership images online I'm seeing a consistency in their building signage and would like to know the corporate specs so I know what to bid on.

Feeling like I should just pass on this one. Would you?

My biggest concern would be getting paid, on the off-chance that corporate reqires the dealer to remove the sign (for whatever reason). The dealer could theoretically be pissed off enough to stiff you.
Would you get in trouble for trademark infringement if branding guidelines are not followed? Not likely, but that’s just my opinion.
The company I work for has built a number of signs that have ended up being infringements. In not a single case were we accused of wrongdoing by the trademark owner. In each case, our client got in trouble. Even then, they were not sued. They were simply hit with a demand to remove the offending signage.
Further, in several cases, we ended up removing the infringing signs and building and installing the replacements.

You could, if you wanted to go to the trouble, find someone at corporate to send a proof to in an effort to forestall any problems from them. That might be in the best interests of you dealer client.
I might take that route if it were me.

Definitely get a half deposit and get a check for the balance on installation.
Good luck.

Brad in Kansas City