Nominet to Platinax - remove logo
So I covered a story about changes to Nominet - the body that overseas UK domains - that are currently creating some interesting discussion about the company’s future.
Accompanying the article was a copy of the Nominet logo.
However, today I received a polite C&D from their legal representative, informing me that they do not allow its use by third-parties, regardless of context.
While I certainly agree that there are clear areas where re-using a logo can be regarded as abuse, I have to admit to being surprised that as a news item it was regarded as inappropriate.
Still, I have absolutely no interest in generating a legal battle with Nominet, and so removed the logo.
Here’s a question - if your company was in the news, would you allow your logo to be re-used in the news article?
Would it make any difference if the new item were on a major news site, ie, BBC or the Register - or a much smaller third-party news site?
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Isn’t this a case of Nominet wanting to have it both ways? People pay money to Nominet, and sign a contract governing their behavior, in order to become members of Nominet. They are in a real sense agents of Nominet. You would think that they would encourage the use of their logo — at a minimum by members — to increase awareness of the .uk domain.
But no. Members get a really crummy-looking “Nominet Member” logo. See http://www.nominet.org.uk/governance/members/logo/, where “SAMPLE” has been carefully stamped over the top lest thieves attempt to steal them.
Maybe Nominet really believes that their members’ logo is an indication of a certain standard of service and accountability, and should be reserved for those meeting their stringent requirements.
If only. Their members list is very long (though unnumbered), but as clicked at random I found:
- Utransit Communications, whose web site contains the single word “Utransit”
- Netwise Networks, whose site contains a place to leave a message
- Grant Web Media, whose website doesn’t resolve at all
In fact, the Nominet T+Cs don’t require that a member do much more than keep its mailing address current and agree to notify Nominet if there’s any legal proceedings regarding a .uk name. Hardly a guarantee of quality.
What’s all the fuss about?
Antony
Comment by Antony Van Couvering — February 24, 2006 @ 6:53 am