Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award Name and Trademark Guidelines

The National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST), the Commerce Department agency that manages the Baldrige Program, has title to the Award's registered trademark. Other than Baldrige Award recipients and NIST and its subcontractors, organizations and individuals should not use the Baldrige Award trademark, other materials or objects that incorporate the trademark—including the Baldrige Award medallion and photos of the Baldrige Award crystal—or the name "Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award" without prior approval from NIST. Please apply the following guidelines when you refer to the Award in advertising, publications, audiovisual productions, and similar materials.

Baldrige Award Applicants

If you apply for the Award, you may acknowledge their participation. However, your organization, in particular if it is selected for a site visit, should not state or imply that this is a formal recognition of achievements.

Baldrige Award Recipients

If you are an Award recipient, you may use the ribbon portion of the trademark by itself or with the words "Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award". You may stack your name two lines below the trademark if desired. Clearly indicate the year you received the Award.

The typeface is Optima Bold. If you use the words with the ribbon, do not position them in any other order or typeface.

Authorized colors for the trademark are:
Gold Foil
Black
Burgundy PMS 209
Blue PMS 289

Use all colors at 100 percent. You may reverse the image to white on a dark background.

No Endorsement Implied

Receiving the Baldrige Award does not imply endorsement of your organization's products or services.

• In your copy, specify that the Award is for performance excellence and quality achievement.
• Do not state or imply that it is for a product or service.
• Do not use either the Award name or its trademark on products or in conjunction with specific product or service claims.

If Your Organization Changes ...

If the name of your organization changes, you may continue to use the Award trademark in conjunction with your new name.

• Either add the line "Formerly XXX," or use the previous name with the line "Currently XXX."
• Include the year that the organization received the Award, as shown below.

If your organization substantially changes, is taken over by another organization, or in some way becomes a very different entity from the organization that received the Baldrige Award, NIST may ask your organization to discontinue using the trademark and referring to itself as a Baldrige Award recipient. NIST will continue to list the original organization as an Award recipient in published material.

Subsidiaries as Recipients

If a subsidiary of your organization receives the Baldrige Award, make clear to the reader/viewer/listener which organization received the Award.

• In all publicity, state clearly that the unit—not the parent organization—received the Award.
• If you cite the parent, make the name of the subsidiary unit more prominent in placement, size, and usage than that of the parent unit.
• Use only the name of the organization that received the Baldrige Award in conjunction with the Award trademark.
• Use the trademark of the subsidiary unit, rather than the trademark of the parent unit, in conjunction with the Award trademark or text referring to the Baldrige Award recipient. If the subsidiary does not have a trademark, you may use the parent unit's trademark, but make clear in the text that the subsidiary received the Award.
• When others, such as the parent unit, suppliers, or customers, sponsor publicity, indicate this in the copy to make it clear which organization received the Award. The publicity should not imply that the sponsor has a connection to the Award.
• Statements from the parent unit's officers should not imply that an entire organization—rather than the subsidiary—received the award.

Publicity by Recipients

• In publicity, do not imply that Baldrige Award recipients were compared to their competitors during the evaluation process. To avoid creating this impression, do not use trademarks or slogans that imply that an Award recipient is better than its competitors in conjunction with the Award name or logo.
• Do not use photos or likenesses of, or statements by, the President of the United States, the Secretary of Commerce, other government officials, or the White House in conjunction with Baldrige Award-related advertising or promotions. You may use photographs of the President, the Secretary of Commerce, or other government officials taken during the Baldrige Award ceremony and public statements made by them in news releases and newsletters.
• Carefully review all Award-related publicity to ensure accuracy. We encourage the responsible executives to ensure this attention, including consultation among parent units, subsidiaries, quality and public relations officials, and contractors.
• You may reproduce the Baldrige Award trademark and Baldrige Award medallion for use on mementos. However, replicas and printed reproductions of the medallion cannot include the Presidential seal, which is on the reverse side of the medallion. Copies of the medallion may be produced with plain reverse side, a duplicate of the front side, or name or trademark of the Award recipient along with the year the Award was received.

Reproduction of Award

The award crystal cannot be reproduced in any form or size.