Using Choose Hope Designs and Trademarks

We often hear from customers and others in the community, asking whether it would be OK to use various Choose Hope designs, images, slogans, etc. Just when we think we’ve heard every possible request, a new one pops up!

We understand these issues can be confusing, so we are attempting here to explain things as best we can, and to provide answers to some of the questions we hear most frequently.

And by the way, if you’re here reading this – thank you! Thank you for respecting Choose Hope’s mission and materials.

What’s this all about, anyway?

Choose Hope’s mission is to generate enough profitable revenue that it can contribute significant donations to cancer research. Simply put, we need to run a great business if we want to make a difference in the fight against cancer. Any good business maintains strong trademarks and protects its copyrightable materials. When we receive usage requests, they usually boil down to one or both of those issues: copyright and/or trademark.

What’s the difference between copyright and trademark?

Copyright protects certain types of original expression, such as: literary work; musical works; pictorial, graphic and sculptural work; audio-visual work; etc. Examples of Choose Hope material subject to copyright protection include: Product photographs; our original jewelry designs; original poems; our product descriptions; the Choose Hope logo; the chart of cancer awareness ribbon colors; our calendar of cancer awareness months, etc. Generally speaking, if you want to reproduce, adapt, distribute, perform or display work that is protected by copyright, you need permission from the copyright owner.

A trademark is anything used to identify the source of particular goods or services. Words, slogans, logos, sounds, smells and colors can all function as trademarks. A trademark distinguishes one company’s good and services from those of its competitors. Choose Hope® and the Choose Hope logo are examples of trademarks. (Choose hope has many other trademarks as well; these are just examples). It is important for Choose Hope to protect its trademarks to preserve its integrity and brand identity in the marketplace. If consumers confuse somebody else’s product with a similar Choose Hope product, our brand and reputation suffer. And if that happens: our mission suffers as well.

Common Usage Requests

Questions we most often receive are listed below, if you don’t find an answer to your particular question, please contact us at [email protected]

Cancer Awareness Ribbon Colors and Calendar of Cancer Awareness Months

We offer a printable chart of Cancer Awareness Ribbon Colors. We similarly make available our Calendar of Cancer Awareness Months. To use these files, you must agree to our license terms (below). If you do not agree to the terms, please do not use these files.

Poems

Poems on the Choose Hope website are the copyrighted work of Linda Nielsen. You may perform these poems publicly by reading them aloud, without any changes or modifications, at public gatherings. Linda expressly reserves all other rights. You may not reproduce, modify, distribute or display the poems without written permission from Linda or (for as long as Choose Hope serves as Linda’s agent) from Choose Hope.

Slogans and Sayings

  • No One Fights Alone
  • Together We Will Win
  • Girls Fight Tough
  • Cancer Bites
  • I’m Stronger Than You Think
  • Choose To Be
  • What Cancer Cannot Do
  • I Have Chemo Brain! What’s Your Excuse?

(there may be others, please inquire).

If you purchase a Choose Hope product, of course you may use that product for its intended purpose. Sometimes, though, customers ask whether they can modify the product to insert their own name, brand or other information. When the product in question contains a Choose Hope trademark, we often have to say No.

Slogans and sayings that function as trademarks for Choose Hope are subject to all the provisions of US trademark law – and the law is rather strict. One thing we cannot do is permit our trademarks to be used in connection with other brands. Why? Because trademarks serve as “indicators of source” (see our trademark explanation above). If the public sees our trademark together with yours, or that of another business or organization, there can be confusion as to source. For example: if you are conducting a fundraiser and our trademark appears with yours, potential donors might think that Choose Hope is sponsoring the event.

When a member of the public sees our trademarks in connection with cancer awareness, it’s our job to make sure they think, “Choose Hope is the source of these goods and services.” That message becomes diluted if we permit our marks to be used in connection with others.

You cannot manufacture your own cancer awareness merchandise with Choose Hope trademarks; nor can you distribute Choose Hope products in any way that confuses the public as to their source. For example, you cannot call your store or web page Choose Hope or No One Fights Alone (or any of our other trademarks) because those terms serve as indicators that Choose Hope is the source of the goods being offered.

We don’t love that trademark law imposes these restrictions, but it does. And we must abide by the law in order to protect our brands and our mission. Whenever possible we will consider a workable solution that might allow us to grant requests for use. So feel free to ask; we consider each request on a case-by-case basis.

A Note About What Cancer Cannot Do®

What Cancer Cannot Do is a trademark for Choose Hope’s efforts in connection with promoting public awareness of the need for a cure for cancer. We provide these services, on the What Cancer Cannot Do page of choosehope.com and with our line of What Cancer Cannot Do® awareness products.

What Cancer Cannot Do is also the title of a well-known and widely-used poem. Choose Hope does not (and cannot) claim any rights in or to that poem. So if for some reason you want to use the actual text of the poem, Choose Hope has nothing to say about it.

What choose Hope does control, is the user of the words What Cancer Cannot Do as an indicator of source for services that promote cancer awareness. That means, for example, you cannot name your relay team, or your cancer-products webstore, or your cancer research fundraising campaign What Cancer Cannot Do without a license from Choose Hope.

Choose Hope® and the Choose Hope Logo

Everything we said above applies as well to Choose Hope® and the Choose Hope logo. Use of these trademarks is never permitted without our permission. When Choose Hope does actually sponsor an event and use of our trademarks is appropriate, we will supply usage guidelines and we require strict adherence.

Product Photos and Descriptions

Unless you are an approved wholesale customer, you may not reproduce, distribute, display or use in any other manner the product photos from our website. If you are an approved wholesale customer, you may do so, but only as expressly set forth in our Terms of Use.

Under no circumstances may anyone reproduce, distribute, display or use in any other manner the written product descriptions or any other text from our website.

Shopping Cart