[Someone1234]

They might be, but when you're using someone else's trademark to accurately represent their business, it may not be a trademark violation within itself.

So for example, if I took Hacker News' Y but used it to link to Hacker News itself, that may not be a trademark violation as I am not either hurting the brand's reputation or misleading people into thinking an association exists with the brand.

But ultimately it is up to a judge to decide what is or is not allowed. And you definitely don't want to take the "the ride" to find out that what you're doing is legal, it could still cost you tens of thousands of dollars.

> Fair use may be asserted on two grounds, either that the alleged infringer is using the mark to describe accurately an aspect of its products, or that the alleged infringer is using the mark to identify the mark owner.[0]

[0] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trademark#Limits_and_defenses_...

[TazeTSchnitzel]

The thing to do is check how the trademark owner feels. I believe Visa and MasterCard are fine with using their logos to show they're accepted (those stickers every store has are surely legal?), but remember that Microsoft don't let you use the word Windows in a product name, except in the form "for Windows".

[wavefunction]

These firms all have brand guidelines which are certainly not being followed/adhered to by this font. It's a nice effort but not a good idea to use in anything public.

[michaelmior]

I think those stickers every store has are distributed by the Visa and Mastercard (or some vendor who has a direct association with them). In any case, it seems like a different situation if the source of the material is ultimately the business itself. In the case of this post, it's a third party with no formal association making use of the logo.

[nothrabannosir]

There's not just trademark, but also copyright. Somebody designed those logos. Does this fall under fair use?

[dublinben]

Fair use for copyright infringement is only an affirmative defense once you're brought to court. You can't rely on it ahead of time for any kind of legal certainty. It can still take an expensive and drawn out legal fight to prove that you are covered by fair use.