The Publicity and Branding Clause: What It Means and How to Draft It (2026)

What a publicity and branding clause means A publicity and branding clause controls two related things: how the parties may announce or publicise their relationship, and how each party may use the other's name, logo and trademarks. In plain terms, it answers questions that otherwise cause friction once a deal is signed. Can you put out a press release? Can you add the other party's logo to your website? Can you use their brand in your marketing, and if so, how? The clause sets the rules before anyone acts, rather than after a tweet or a logo wall has already gone up. It is easy to underestimate this clause until a brand is misused. A supplier that splashes a famous customer's logo across its homepage without permission can breach the contract and damage the relationship. A partner that announces a deal before the other side is ready can cause real commercial harm. Because a company's name and marks are valuable assets, controlling their use is a genuine protection, not boilerplate. This clause is close to, but distinct from, a customer reference or testimonial clause (which is about being named as a reference or case study). This page focuses on announcements and on the use of names, logos and trademarks. ## The parts of the clause - Announcements and press. Whether either party may publicise the relationship, and whose approval is needed before any public statement or press release.

• Use of name and marks. Whether, and how, each party may use the other's company name, logos and trademarks (for example on a website, in a pitch, or in marketing materials).
• Approval process. Who must approve use, how approval is requested, and how quickly it must be given or refused.
• Brand guidelines and quality. A requirement to follow the brand owner's usage guidelines and not to alter marks or imply an endorsement beyond what is agreed.
• Ownership and reservation of rights. A statement that all rights in each party's marks stay with that party, and that permission to use them is a limited licence, not a transfer.
• Term and withdrawal. How long permission lasts, and the right to require marks to be removed, especially after the contract ends. ## A sample publicity and branding clause > Neither party shall issue any press release or public announcement relating to this Agreement or the relationship between the parties without the other party's prior written consent (not to be unreasonably withheld or delayed). Neither party shall use the other party's name, logos or trademarks (the Marks) in any marketing, website, customer list or other material without the owner's prior written consent. Where consent is given, the using party shall: (a) use the Marks only as permitted and in accordance with any brand guidelines the owner provides; (b) not alter the Marks or use them in a way that is misleading or that implies any endorsement, partnership or relationship beyond that set out in this Agreement; and (c) acknowledge the owner's ownership of the Marks. All goodwill arising from use of the Marks accrues to the owner. Nothing in this Agreement transfers any right, title or interest in a party's Marks; any permitted use is a limited, revocable, non-exclusive licence. On termination of this Agreement, or on the owner's written request, the using party shall promptly cease all use of the owner's Marks and remove them from its materials. Treat this as a drafting starting point, not a finished clause. The right wording depends on the deal, the value of the brands involved and the governing law, and this page is general information, not legal advice. ## How to draft it well Separate announcements from ongoing use. A one-off press release and continuing use of a logo on a website are different and need different rules. Deal with each clearly rather than lumping them together. Default to consent, then soften it sensibly. The safe default is that neither party uses the other's name or marks without written consent. To keep the relationship workable, add that consent will not be unreasonably withheld or delayed, or pre-agree a specific, limited permission (for example a logo in a customer list). Tie use to brand guidelines. Permission to use a mark should come with a duty to follow the owner's usage guidelines and not to distort the mark. This protects brand consistency and the mark's legal strength. Forbid implied endorsement. Make clear that using a mark does not let a party imply a bigger relationship, a partnership or an endorsement than the contract actually creates. Keep ownership and goodwill with the owner. State that all rights and any goodwill in the marks stay with the owner and that permission is a limited, revocable licence, not a transfer. This is the clause's core protection. Write the exit. Require marks to be removed when the contract ends or on request. A logo that outlives the relationship is both a legal problem and a bad look. ## Points worth negotiating The party with the stronger brand (often a well known customer) usually wants a strict consent requirement, tight control over how its marks are used, and a fast removal right. The party wanting the publicity (often a supplier) usually wants a pre-agreed permission to name the customer and use its logo, and a reasonableness qualifier so consent is not withheld arbitrarily. A workable middle ground is mutual consent for press releases, a limited pre-agreed permission for specific uses such as a customer list or a logo, a duty to follow brand guidelines, and prompt removal on exit. Companies that are sensitive about their brand (for example in regulated or high-profile sectors) may refuse any logo use at all, and that is a legitimate position. ## Jurisdiction notes The contract governs what each party may do, but trademark law sits behind it everywhere. In most jurisdictions, using another company's registered trademark without permission can be infringement regardless of the contract, so a branding clause works alongside, not instead of, trademark rights. In the United States, trademark use is governed by the Lanham Act and the risk of implying a false endorsement is real. In the United Kingdom, the European Union and India, registered trademarks are protected by statute and unregistered marks may be protected by passing off or similar doctrines. Because unauthorised brand use can be both a breach of contract and trademark infringement, the clause should reserve the owner's rights clearly and never be read as a wider licence than it says. ## Common mistakes No clause at all, so a logo appears on a website before anyone discusses it. Treating announcements and ongoing logo use as one thing. Granting a bare permission with no brand guidelines, so the mark is distorted or misused. Letting a party imply an endorsement the deal does not support. Forgetting to reserve ownership and goodwill, which weakens the clause. No removal right, so marks linger after the relationship ends. Copying a clause from an unrelated contract whose permissions do not match how much publicity this deal should allow. ## One workspace to draft, review and track your clauses Most teams do not lose on the theory of a branding clause. They lose because the permission someone granted lives in an old email, no one can quickly say which contracts let a partner use the company logo, and a mark keeps appearing on a site long after the deal ended. The alternative is to keep drafting, review, tracking and governance in one place rather than across five disconnected tools. The idea is simple. You draft from your own clause catalogue and house positions, the system reads any contract and flags positions (including a broad grant to use your name or marks) as favourable, neutral or unfavourable to your company, and because the contract is held as a structured clause tree rather than flat text you can find every publicity and branding clause across a set of agreements and align them in plain English. Adira is one such workspace, built on Anthropic's Claude and tuned to how your company contracts. India is deepest today, with other jurisdictions and a company command centre on the roadmap.