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CivicPlus® Brand Trademark Policy

CivicPlus has, on many occasions, demanded that companies and other organizations tolerate legal, fair uses of their trademarks. Nothing in this policy is intended to limit any right you may have to use CivicPlus’ trademarks in a manner otherwise allowed by law.

What are Trademarks?

The term “trademark” includes any word, name, symbol, or device—or any combination of those — that is used by a person or entity to identify and distinguish their goods and services from those offered by others and to indicate the source or origin of their goods and services. In the U.S. and many other jurisdictions, it is not required to register a trademark with the government before claiming rights in the mark.

What are CivicPlus’ Trademarks?

The CivicPlus trademarks (collectively, the “CivicPlus Marks”) are all trademarks owned or used by CivicPlus, including but not limited to:

  • CivicAdvise®
  • CivicClerk®
  • CivicCMS®
  • CivicEngage®
  • CivicHR®
  • CivicMobile®
  • CivicOptimize®
  • CivicPlus®
  • CivicPlus Platform®
  • CivicReady®
  • CivicRec®
  • CivicSecure™
  • CivicSend®
  • CivicService™
  • CivicSupport®
  • CivicTraining®
  • CP Connect®
  • CP Media™
  • CP Mobile™
  • Design Essentials®
  • Notify Me®

Rules that Apply to Trademarks In General

Some basic rules apply to any use of any trade or service mark that you do not own, including any CivicPlus mark, without the owner’s express permission.

  • A trademark should not be altered or amended in any way. A mark should not be combined with any other mark, hyphenated, abbreviated, or displayed in parts. A trademark that is depicted as one word should not be separated into two words.
  • A logo should not be displayed with color variations or with other elements superimposed on top of the logo.
  • A trademark should not be used as your domain name or as part of your domain name.
  • A trademark should not be used as part of your product name.
  • A trademark should not be incorporated into your company’s logos or designs.
  • A trademark notice should be used on the most prominent or first appearance of each mark belonging to CivicPlus, and a trademark notice should not be changed. In particular, a ™ should not be changed to an ® in a trademark notice by anyone other than the owner. If you are unsure whether a CivicPlus mark is registered, please contact us for additional guidance on what trademark symbol you should use.

There are also some basic rights that everyone has to use any trademark, often referred to as “fair use,” and CivicPlus does not intend to restrict those rights. You may make fair use of word marks to make true factual statements, but fair use does not permit you to state or imply that the owner of a mark produces, endorses, or supports your company, products, or services.

Rules and Policies Applicable to Marks CivicPlus Owns

In addition to the generally applicable rules discussed above:

  • Use the full form of any trademarks (e.g., CivicPlus, CivicEngage, CivicReady) in the first reference in all mass communication documents, including marketing collateral and web pages.
  • Never abbreviate trademarks (e.g., do not use “CP” instead of “CivicPlus,” or “Engage” instead of “CivicEngage”).
  • Use CivicPlus’ trademarks in a form that distinguishes them from the text around them, such as by capitalization, bold or italic fonts, or quotation marks. Any use of CivicPlus’ registered trademarks should include the ® symbol immediately after the first usage. Any use of CivicPlus’ unregistered trademarks should immediately include a TM after the first usage.
  • Do not use CivicPlus trademarks in a manner that would disparage CivicPlus or its products (e.g., untruthful advertising, false or misleading promotional materials).
  • Do not use CivicPlus trademarks more prominently than your own company, product, or service name.
  • Do not use a CivicPlus logo on posters, brochures, signs, websites, or other marketing materials to promote your events, products, or services without written permission from CivicPlus Marketing.
  • Do not attempt to claim or assert any ownership rights in any CivicPlus mark and do not attempt to register any CivicPlus trademark as a trademark, trade name, domain name, or “doing business as” name, alone or (unless specifically licensed) in combination with your trademarks.

CivicPlus marks have been created, and their use is expressly permitted for a specific purpose. Do not use CivicPlus logos or names in any commercial or marketing context other than as expressly permitted in this policy unless you have obtained explicit written permission from CivicPlus Marketing. CivicPlus permits the use of its trademarks for private and personal use to make t-shirts and collateral for yourself and your friends (meaning people from whom you don’t receive anything of value in return) in a manner that is consistent with the preservation of the goodwill and value of the mark.

You are also allowed to use a CivicPlus trademark or logo as a link to the home page of the applicable project or to a web page on civicplus.com that is relevant to the reference so long as the link is in a manner that is consistent with the preservation of the goodwill and value of the mark. The link and all other usages of a CivicPlus logo shall be done using the official versions of CivicPlus logos obtained from CivicPlus or its projects.

Use Permissions Not Allowed by This Policy

If you wish to use any of the CivicPlus Marks in a manner that is not expressly permitted by this policy or otherwise permitted by a trademark law exception such as fair use, please contact us directly at marketing@civicplus.com. Submit any such requests to us at least four (4) weeks before you require approval.

Reporting Trademark Abuse

Please report any misuse of the CivicPlus Marks to marketing@civicplus.com and provide us with as much information as you can about the use you think might be infringing. We’ll investigate the use and take appropriate action if warranted.

Questions

For any questions on this policy, please contact CivicPlus Marketing.