The Usage Rights of Google Doodles
The multicolored Google company logo is widely recognized. Although Google relies on this logo as an indication of its corporate identity, it also changes the logo from time to time, often using a whimsical design to honor a particular person, event or holiday. Visitors to the Google homepage are sometimes surprised by a logo that jiggles, dances or responds to cursor movements. Google refers to these variations on its standard logo as Google Doodles.
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Google Doodles
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The idea for Google Doodles began in 1998 when the company's founders, Larry Page and Sergey Brin, attended the Burning Man festival in Nevada. As an inside joke among company staff, the Google logo was altered by placing a stick figure drawing -- the symbol of the Burning Man festival -- behind the second "o" in Google. The change was well-received and Google appointed a "chief doodler" in 2000 to regularly create doodles.
Full Collection
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As of October 2011, Google has created more than 1,000 doodles. About 300 of these appeared on Google's U.S. search site, while the rest appeared in other locations around the world. Some of the doodles have captured broad public attention, such as the April Fool's doodle that replaced the second "g" in Google with a toilet, thereby supposedly introducing Google's toilet-based Internet service. You can see the full set of doodles at Google's logo collection website.
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Usage Rights
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Google generally grants users permission to use an unaltered Google screenshot, including the logo, in uses that are "instructive or illustrative." However, the company generally does not grant permission to use its doodles, nor does it permit others to design and publish their own Google Doodles. Users with a particular need to reproduce a doodle should request permission from Google.
Permissions Request
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You can ask Google for permission to use a doodle -- and provide justification for why your use is appropriate -- by filling out the online "Request for permission to use Google brand features" on the Google website. Include your contact information, explain how you intend to use a doodle and attach an image file showing how you plan to incorporate the doodle into your project. Google will respond to your request in two to four weeks.
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