Trademark and Copyright FAQ

Intellectual Property refers to creations of the mind; it encompasses trademarks and copyrights. Trademarks are the words, names, symbols and colors that distinguish Toastmasters International. Copyrights protect Toastmasters International’s proprietary educational materials that have been tangibly expressed. The membership marks “Toastmasters International,” “Toastmaster” and “Toastmasters,” and the emblem are registered for trademark protection in all countries where districts, provisional districts, or territorial councils exist, for exclusive use by or under the authority of Toastmasters International. 

Any product, aside from the items mentioned in Policy 4.0 (of who may use Toastmasters International's trademarks, the type of uses authorized, and the parties responsible for their use), that bears the Toastmasters International trademarks, logo, emblem, word, or tagline that has not been authorized by World Headquarters. Any item that bears our trademarks but does not follow our Brand guidelines indicates that it was not authorized.

No. Copying and distributing Toastmasters’ copyrighted material is strictly prohibited. In addition, please note that according to Protocol 4.0, “Toastmasters websites may not include copyrighted information from Toastmasters International or any other source without the express written permission of the copyright owner.”

Unauthorized use of the marks or copyrighted materials is prohibited and may result in removal from good standing of an individual member, revocation of a club charter, removal of an officer at any level, or other disciplinary or legal action. Please see Policy 4.0.

Toastmasters International operates under whistle-blower protection. According to Policy 3.0, if any member believes that Toastmasters’ policies have been violated, please provide a written complaint of all alleged instances of trademark and copyright infringement directly by email and include a description, screenshots, and any helpful background information regarding how you came across the infringement.

 

If you provide your contact information, the Toastmasters International Legal Team may contact you for additional information, if necessary. Your personal information will be kept confidential, except where release is required by law.

 

Your dedication and initiative in protecting our organization are greatly appreciated.

Clubs, areas, divisions, districts, officer candidates at all levels and individual members may use Toastmasters International’s trademarks, please see Policy 4.0 for more information about the type of items that are already authorized and the types of items that are unauthorized and require prior written authorization from the World Headquarters.

To use our materials, you must obtain written consent from Toastmasters World Headquarters. We kindly ask that you contact us by email detailing your request to start the Brand/Trademark review and approval process. Please include a mockup of how you will use our materials and the reason for the request. Once it is submitted, we will review it as quickly as possible. Please note that each request is reviewed on a case-by-case basis.

Items that do not require authorization include perishable items such as cakes and cookies as well as any marketing items that are available in our Logos, Images and Templates library, as these items have already been approved by WHQ. For a detailed list, please see Protocol 4.0, 1B.

To create materials using the "Toastmasters" word mark or logo on objects that are not already authorized, prior written consent from WHQ is required.  We kindly ask that you submit a Trademark Use Request Form to start the Brand/Trademark review and approval process.  Once it is submitted, we will review it as quickly as possible. Please note that each request is reviewed on a case-by-case basis. 

When submitting your Trademark Use Request, please make sure that you include a mockup design of your item that follows our Brand expectations.  The Toastmasters' Logos, Images and Templates library, and the Brand Manual are great resources to use as you are creating materials. If you have any questions regarding Brand, please contact us by email. 

Requests for any items that are already available in Toastmasters’ online store are denied. This includes badges, club banners and pins.

Please visit our Logos, Images and Templates library. Here you'll find color logos and templates you can download and edit. To edit a template, be sure to click "enable editing" in yellow bar on the top of the page.