Seal Usage Policy
The following provisions govern the use of the official seal of the American Society for Metabolic and Bariatric Surgery (the “Seal”).
Claim of Service Mark
The Seal is a service mark of the American Society for Metabolic and Bariatric Surgery (the “Society”). All rights to the Seal belong to the Society. The Seal may be used only in accordance with these guidelines. Any use of the Seal that does not comply with these guidelines is prohibited.
Authorized Use
A) Individual Members: The Seal may only be used and displayed by Regular members in good standing of the Society. Members are permitted to use the Seal during the period of Regular membership in the Society. Permission to use the Seal is automatically withdrawn if membership in the Society is not renewed or terminates for any reason.
B) Group Use: The Seal may be used by a formal surgical group only if each member of the surgical group is a Regular member in good standing of the Society. Permission to use the Seal is automatically withdrawn if any individual member’s membership in the Society is not renewed or terminates for any reason.
Permitted Display
The Seal may be used in accordance with the foregoing requirements only to indicate that the user is a Regular member of the Society. The Seal may be used on professional stationery and letterhead, business and referral cards, marketing materials, and websites.
Prohibited Uses and Displays
The Seal shall not be used on exterior signage or billboards, display advertising, yellow page advertisements, informed consent materials, or on pre-operative or post-operative instructions. The Seal shall not be used in such a manner as to appear that the Seal is owned by any entity other than the Society. The Seal shall not be used on price lists or in conjunction with patient testimonials.
No Endorsement
The Seal may not be used in any manner which states or implies endorsement of a particular procedure, product or device.
Formatting and Display.
The Seal must be used in its entire format. The typeface and graphic elements of the Seal may not be altered, retypeset or modified except to resize the entire Seal. All elements of the Seal typeface and graphics must be clearly legible and recognizable. No additional material or text may be placed in or adjacent to the Seal. The Seal design must be used in grayscale; adding color is not permitted. On dark backgrounds grayscale elements may be reversed to white. The Seal should be used on plain paper backgrounds.