Protecting CARE’s Brand Work – CARE Brand Standards

Brand standards • Written standards • Protecting CARE's brand work

Protecting CARE's brand work

Flexibility and guidelines for using “CARE®” vs. “care”

Many CARE International Members are interested in using CARE in new ways beyond our traditional and historical approaches. This could include using “CARE” as an adjective or verb, creating a double entendre effect, or other innovative uses.

While this creativity is encouraged, it must be done under the guidance and review of the CARE Brand Management and Legal departments on a case-by-case basis as new materials that fall into this category are created. CARE maintains the right to refuse requests that do not follow the following guidelines, imperil our trademarks, or which present a high risk to CARE of protecting our marks. Guidance may be different depending on country or proposed use.

New uses of “CARE” beyond the name of our organization must be reviewed with the following considerations and in the following way:

Any alternative marketing and use of the CARE trademark will be exceptional. We want to honor innovation and creativity with new ways of marketing and fundraising, but we also have an obligation to ensure appropriate brand protections and consistency with use.
Any alternative uses must receive prior written approval from CARE Brand Management and Legal, and any approved use should conform with any guidance provided by CARE related to any specific request.
Requests may be subject to external legal counsel review. Legal services will likely be pro bono, but if not, requesting CIMs will be responsible for fees and expenses. CARE Brand Management and Legal will make every effort to provide a cost estimate to the CIM prior to engagement.
All proposed and approved uses must conform with applicable CARE brand standards.
CARE will not consent to uses of “CARE” with another word (WomenCARE, CARETalk), using CARE solely as a verb (we CARE about women, I CARE enough to help), or altering tense of CARE (CARES, CARING, CARED).
Any use of the brand name CARE must be distinctive from other words, i.e. be capitalized, orange colored, and bear the TM registered trademark symbol.

Trademarks

The CARE brands, trademarks, and service marks are valuable intellectual property assets belonging to CARE. The laws governing these assets require strict adherence, as failure to do so could result in diminishment or loss of our rights as well as our ability to defend against infringement.

CARE's principal registered marks are:

CARE (the word)
CARE (logo with the circle of hands)
CARE Package

When using these marks in the U.S., the default rule is to use the registered mark symbol (®) with these marks.

Outside the U.S., the registration status of these marks changes over time and varies from country to country. Seek assistance from the Legal Department in Atlanta for the version that fits the specifications and purposes of your project. If for any reason the Legal Department is unavailable to assist in the determination of which symbol to use in a particular circumstance, the default guidelines are:

For any marks used outside the U.S., the default guideline is to use the SM symbol instead of the ® symbol.
For instances in which any of the principal marks are used in collateral designed for dissemination in both the U.S. and outside the U.S. simultaneously, the default guideline is to use the SM symbol. It is important, however, to state in a footnote that the “[MARK] is registered in the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office.”

Standards for use of CARE's marks in any medium:

When producing CARE materials, it is preferable to use the registered mark (®) at the first use or mention of the mark.
In circumstances where the use of the registered mark is not feasible for technical or aesthetic reasons, include a statement acknowledging ownership of the mark somewhere in the document. Example: “CARE® is a registered trademark of Cooperative for Assistance and Relief Everywhere, Inc.”
As described elsewhere in this site, never obscure, distort, cut off, or place any copy or design over CARE marks.
In external communications, never shorten, abbreviate, or create acronyms for the marks, and never hyphenate the marks. Incorrect: CP instead of CARE Package®

Copyright

Using the correct copyright information on CARE materials communicates our exclusive right to control who can reproduce, distribute, or adapt CARE materials.

In the U.S., follow these copyright notice rules. If you are outside the U.S., contact the Office of General Counsel in Atlanta to ensure the copyright language you use is correct.

Copyright notice for published materials

This notice should be placed on all works of authorship of any kind that are being published by CARE (and therefore are not confidential), including fundraising materials, presentations, brochures, websites, etc. The “2024” shown in this notice should be the year of publication of the work. Thus in cases in which a new brochure is being produced, the year listed in the copyright notice should be the year that the brochure is first published.

Copyright notice for confidential materials

This notice should be placed on confidential works of authorship that will not be published, such as presentations to board members or reports for donors containing proprietary information. The “2024” shown in this notice should be the year of creation of the work. If the creation of a work begins in one year and concludes in the following year, the year of completion of creation should be used.

Copyright and trademark notice

Copyright © 2024 Cooperative for Assistance and Relief Everywhere, Inc. (CARE). CARE®, CARE & Design®, and the other trademarks and service marks herein are registered or common-law trademarks and service marks of CARE, as applicable.

This notice should be used in cases where CARE trademarks or service marks are being used in a work and is particularly important in cases where, for aesthetic, formatting, space, or other reasons particular to a specific work, it is impossible or impractical to otherwise give notice of the registration status of a mark through use of the ® symbol.

Statement of CARE's commitment to equal opportunity and diversity

When technically and aesthetically feasible, it is best practice to include CARE’s statement of commitment to equal opportunity and diversity on any communication medium. This statement is commonly grouped with the required trademark and copyright notifications in discreet 6-point type:

“CARE is an Equal Opportunity Employer.”