There are a myriad of companies offering free goods and services on the net. They offer these as a way of attracting traffic for their site and make their money selling ad space to other companies who can benefit from the high volume of traffic.

Business logos, free and ready to use are a dime a dozen on the net. In this article we look at the possible pitfalls of using these free logos.

Starting a business of your own can be expensive and if you are working with a limited budget any freebies are welcome.

There are certain things though that one should not scrounge on and your company logo is definitely one of those things.
Let’s compare it to getting a tattoo. A tattoo is a permanent graphic portrayal of something important to you, a value or belief a message to others about yourself…a permanent identification mark. Would you have your tattoo done by someone offering it for free?

Similarly your company’s logo will be its identity.

Logos are the most important part of company branding, if you see a black tick you think NIKE.

There are other problems when using a free logo. As you have not created and neither paid for the design it is technically not your property and you therefore enjoy no patent or copy rights. There is thus nothing stopping anybody else from downloading and using the exact same logo. Imagine your company is thriving and has become a well known player in whatever particular field you may be, your logo is recognised by all and sunder and you have really worked hard to create this positive and profitable connotation to your mark i.e. logo.

One day you page through some print media or browse the web and discover some sly but clever entrepreneur has decided to ride on your coattails and is snaking business by using a copy of your logo? We can also flip that coin and look at the other side. You have downloaded your free logo and printed it on all your company stationary just to find out that this logo is already in use?

There is a well known saying: “few things in life truly free”

When you decided to download that logo did you read the fine print, the fine print could very possibly be the terms of a rental agreement by which you are entitled to use this logo only if you agree to pay a fee for such usage, either by way of a monthly or annual rental or even an amount per reprinted copy of this logo.

The point I’m trying to make is a free logo could mean the end of your company before it even began.
Give your company its own tick of approval and invest in a decent, personal and unique identity for your company.