Fair use of trademarks in my credits

[Alec]

I'm currently building my website and would like to include a page with my credits.

I have provided music and sound design for some big companies that are very well known in the world (fashion, cars, etc.), as well as for museums and installations.

Here comes my dilemma.

Can I mention those companies in my website with a "Worked for:" (or something similar) considering it "fair use"?

Or I need a specific permission of every single company I have worked for that I would like to mention in my CV?

Btw, I'm in Europe - IT.
Thanks for any advice.

Best,
- A

[Dean]

Originally Posted by Alec

I'm currently building my website and would like to include a page with my credits.

I have provided music and sound design for some big companies that are very well known in the world (fashion, cars, etc.), as well as for museums and installations.

Here comes my dilemma.

Can I mention those companies in my website with a "Worked for:" (or something similar) considering it "fair use"?

Or I need a specific permission of every single company I have worked for that I would like to mention in my CV?

Btw, I'm in Europe - IT.
Thanks for any advice.

Best,
- A

theres no dilemma,you're not doing anything wrong.
I list all my clients/projects/producers etc on my website as do most composers and I've never asked for permission.

Dean.

[Alec]

Many thanks for your reply, Dean.

Last week I posted the same question on another forum and an attorney replied that I should ask for permission everytime I mention a client on my website.
To me it sounded a little too pessimistic.

Now I'm glad to know that there's no risk in doing that.

Cheers,
- A

[peter5992]

No, you don't need permission to mention specific clients, unless you are under a special obligation or fiduciary duty to do so (attorneys cannot just mention who they are working for, perhaps that is why the attorney gave you that answer - but that is related to the special attorney / client confidentiality).

This is not a trademark issue by the way.

That said, if you ask, usually people won't make an issue out of it and in fact they appreciate you asking - consider it a relationship building tool.

(in my former life as attorney this could be a thorny issue - especially when I had completed a $$ deal for a prestigious client - we wanted to include the deal figures, but sometimes clients were sensitive to that, on the basis that they didn't want to disclose to the public how much they paid for a company, or were paid for that matter).

[Alec]

Thank you very much for the clarification, Peter!

Cheers,
- A

[remopini]

Well, I would say, it depends...

I don't quite agree with peter5992 on this. If you just have a page listing your projects with a mention of the client, that should be ok without asking (but it would be bad form not to ask), however as soon as the listing has a touch of listing reference projects, then you have to ask for permission.

I work for a bigger IT company and we forbid anyone from using our name for any kind of reference of the work they did for us unless cleared by our legal department. This kind of requires you to ask first .

Cheers

Remo

[Alec]

Thanks for sharing your experience on the subject, Remo!

What I would like to do is just put a "I worked (or provided music) for Companies such as XYZ, ABCD and 123, etc.".

For me it's not important to name a specific project, but I just would like to give that I worked for in a serious context and for prestigious clients.

In the end it's clear that it's better to ask for permission. My only fear is that some clients will ask for a discount the next time I will provide some music.

Cheers,
- A