Google Permissions
When do I need permission to use the Google brand?
About the Program
Because we are passionate about protecting the reputation of our brands, we are very careful about how our "brand features" (a legal term that includes our trademarks, logos, web pages, screenshots, or other distinctive elements) are used. It is never OK for any of our brand features to be altered, edited or misrepresented.
All of our brand features are protected by applicable trademark, copyright and other intellectual property laws. If you would like to use any of them on your website, in an ad, in an article or book, or reproduce them anywhere else, you may need to first receive permission from Google.
First take a look at some these uses:
| Screenshots | Marketing/Advertising | Sponsorships | Holiday Logos (Doodles) | Manufactured Items | Books/Print | Film/TV |
Google Logo or Screenshots
Screenshots
You don’t need our permission when you want to use a standard, unaltered Google screenshot (an image of our homepage or search results page) in either print (book, magazine, journal, newspaper) or digital (web page, DVD, CD) formats for an instructive or illustrative purpose. Examples include screenshots of:
- a Google search results page
- search results indicating where sponsored links are
- an Advanced Search page
- search results for a query you show
This use must be unaltered: You can’t superimpose graphics, photos, or ad copy on the screenshot or change the look of the screen-captured image in any other way.
Please note that using a screenshot of a Google search results page in connection with advertising your products or services (for instance, showing a top ranking on Google) is not considered instructive or illustrative, and therefore is not permitted.
Screenshots of imagery from Google Maps and Google Earth are special cases. Please refer to the Google Maps/Earth guidelines for questions on their permitted use.
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Acceptable Screenshot
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Acceptable Screenshot
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Unacceptable Screenshot
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Marketing/Advertising Materials
We tend not to broadcast the fact that we have found a great partner, and therefore generally do not approve the use of our logo in third-party marketing materials. This includes online and offline advertising and collateral such as:
- Case studies
- Client and referral lists
- Sales presentations
- Print, broadcast, outdoor or online ads
- Product demos
- Signage
- Trade show booths
Contact your Google business partner to discuss third-party marketing activities which we could permit.
We do occasionally refer to partners in our own online and offline marketing materials. Please note that partners promoted in this way do not receive any form of preferential treatment in the actual Google search results (which are generated automatically by computer algorithms) and inclusion on the Google website will not improve the partner’s PageRank™.
Sponsorships
We typically do not approve the use of our logo for events we sponsor. Work with your Google contact to obtain permission for an exception to this policy. We have a separate policy for Google Grants recipients.
Holiday Logos (Doodles)
Our holiday logos (or doodles) are featured throughout the year on our homepage. We’ve created a gallery where you can enjoy them, but we generally don’t grant permission for their use by others. We also do not grant permission for users to create and publish their own versions of the Google logo.
Manufactured Items
We get requests from lots of entrepreneurs who have imagined a new T-shirt design, a toy, software packaging, or another imaginative product that incorporates the Google logo or a Google product. Unfortunately, we cannot grant permission for these uses.
Books or Printed Materials
You don’t need our permission when you want to use a standard, unaltered Google screenshot (an image of our homepage, a main product page, or search results page) in print (book, magazine, journal, newspaper) or digital (web page, DVD, CD) formats for an instructive or illustrative purpose. Examples include screenshots of:
- a Google search results page
- search results indicating where sponsored links are
- an Advanced Search page
- search results for a query you show
This use must be unaltered: You can’t superimpose graphics, photos, or ad copy on the screenshot or change the look of the screen-captured image in any other way.
Regarding cover art, you cannot use the Google logo (or the name ‘Google’ using our typeface) on the cover of a publicly-available book or publication without our permission.
Screenshots of imagery from Google Maps and Google Earth are special cases. Please refer to the Google Maps/Earth guidelines for questions on their permitted use.
Film and TV
If you would like to use the Google logo in a commercial TV or film production, please submit your request using this Request for Permission form.
Google Search Box
If you’d like to use a Google search box on your website, we offer several options. You don’t need to obtain permission to use an unaltered Google-branded search box on your site. But you cannot use a Google-branded search box in your marketing creative, so please do not plan on featuring one in your advertising or other marketing collateral.
Google-based Domain Names
We cannot approve the use of Internet domain names that use the word “Google” or some variation of “Google”. For example, we would not approve a site called googleXYZ.com or gogggles.com.
Developers
We cannot approve any company names or application names that incorporate a Google trademark or that are confusingly similar to any of Google’s trademarks.
If you state that your product is compatible with a Google product, the product must actually be compatible with that Google product.
Any notice that your product is compatible with a Google product should be made in a referential matter using phrases such as “for” or “compatible with” or “for use with.” If reference is made to a Google trademark in connection with your logo, your logo must be larger than the Google trademark. The first instance of the Google trademark should contain the TM symbol. Examples: “XYZ software for Android™” or “ABC plug-in for Google Chrome™”.
Other Brands
Google Apps University Program
Google Analytics Authorized Consultants (GAAC) Program
Google Checkout Acceptance Logo
If you don’t see your specific use here, please read through the answers to common questions.