Referring to Dolby
Proper use of trademark (™) and registered trademark (®) notation in written materials is very important to preserving the integrity of Dolby® trademarks. If you are writing a book or an advertisement, press release, or other marketing communication, this section includes information you will need to properly refer to and acknowledge Dolby trademarks.
This information applies to written materials only. If would like to obtain and use our logo artwork, please see Getting Dolby Logos.
Guidelines for Using Dolby Trademarks in Communications Text
The word Dolby is a registered trademark for the products, technologies, and services of Dolby Laboratories. Correct placement and use of Dolby trademarks is very important, particularly when discussing a Licensee’s product. Improper use of can imply that Dolby is the product’s manufacturer.
Dolby trademarks must always be used in accordance with established US practices for the protection of trademark and service mark rights, unless the requirements in the country from which the website containing the Dolby trademark is served are more stringent, in which case the practice of that country must be followed.
You may refer to Dolby Laboratories’ products and services by their associated Dolby trademarks and service marks (but not logos) so long as these references are truthful, fair and not misleading, and comply with these guidelines, which may be modified from time to time.
| 1. | Always use the appropriate trademark symbol and trademark acknowledgment of Dolby’s ownership. Use superscript or subscript to mark a trademark (™) or registered trademark (®). If superscript or subscript is unavailable, use parentheses: (TM) or (R). For correct acknowledgement wording, see Trademark Acknowledgements. |
| 2. | In written communications, the word Dolby should be used as an adjective followed by a generic term, or noun, and marked with ®, the registered trademark notation. To determine if you are following this rule correctly, remove the trademark from the sentence; a complete and grammatically correct sentence should still exist. Correct: A home theater with Dolby® Surround technology.
Incorrect: A home theater with Dolby. |
| 3. | Never use the Dolby trademark as a verb. Correct: Add equipment with Dolby® Digital decoding to your home theater system by visiting our sales event.
Incorrect: Dolby Digitalize your home theater system by visiting our sales event. |
| 4. | Never use the Dolby trademark in the plural. Correct: I bought two home theater components containing Dolby® technology yesterday.
Incorrect: I bought two Dolbys yesterday. |
| 5. | Never use the Dolby trademark in the possessive. Correct: The decoding capabilities of Dolby® Digital technology are well known.
Incorrect: Dolby Digital’s decoding capabilities are well known. |
| 6. | Do not alter or append the Dolby trademark in any way. Adding hyphens, slashes, prefixes, or suffixes, for example, diminishes the trademark by linking it to a generic word. Correct:
Capable of Dolby® Digital decoding
Incorporates Dolby and Acme technologies
Prior to processing with Dolby® Noise Reduction
Incorrect:
Dolby Digital-capable
Incorporates Dolby/Acme technologies
Pre-Dolby Noise Reduction processed |
| 7. | Do not abbreviate Dolby trademarks. Correct:
Dolby® Digital Surround EX™
Dolby® Digital
Pro Logic®
Incorrect:
EX
DD
P/L |
| 8. | Set the Dolby trademark off from surrounding text using: Quotation marks
All caps or initial caps
Different colors
Distinctive lettering
Using the mark with the word brand |
| 9. | Mark Dolby trademarks with ® or ™ at the most prominent use (usually the headline) and again in the first use of the trademark in the copy, article, individual chart, or graph. |
| 10. | Use trademarks to clearly establish Dolby’s role when discussing consumer products. Dolby does not manufacture consumer products; the company licenses technology for use in consumer product manufacturing. Phrases such as Dolby DVD player imply that Dolby Laboratories manufactures such products, which it does not. Correct: A DVD player with Dolby® Digital decoding
Incorrect: A Dolby DVD player |
| 11 | Dolby does manufacture products, primarily for use in professional environments. When writing about these products use the word Dolby as an adjective. Examples: Dolby® model CP650 cinema processor
Dolby® DP569 encoder
Dolby® E encoder/decoder |
| 12. | Please do not use Dolby trademarks or logos in your own product names, service names, or company names, and do not adopt marks or logos that are confusingly similar to Dolby’s. |
| 13. | Use trademarks and brand names in the manner for which they are intended. Do not use them for goods or services for which they are not intended. Do not alter them in any way. Do not make puns out of them or portray them in a negative light. |
Trademark Acknowledgements
When Dolby trademarks are used in advertising and other promotional material, their ownership must be acknowledged in the form of a footnote wherever possible using the following format:
Dolby is a registered trademark of Dolby Laboratories.
When two or more Dolby trademarks are used within the text, the trademark acknowledgement should indicate ownership of those terms as well. For example, if the trademarks Dolby®, Pro Logic®, and MLP Lossless™ appear in a single written document, the trademark acknowledgement should read:
Dolby and Pro Logic are registered trademarks of Dolby Laboratories. MLP Lossless is a trademark of Dolby Laboratories.
| Word Marks | Trademark Acknowledgement |
| Dolby® | Dolby is a registered trademark of Dolby Laboratories. |
| Pro Logic® | Pro Logic is a registered trademark of Dolby Laboratories. |
| Pro Logic® II | Pro Logic is a registered trademark of Dolby Laboratories. |
| Dolby® Digital EX | Dolby is a registered trademark of Dolby Laboratories. |
| Dolby® Digital Surround EX™ | Dolby is a registered trademark of Dolby Laboratories. Surround EX is a trademark of Dolby Laboratories. |
| Dolby® TrueHD | Dolby is a registered trademark of Dolby Laboratories. |
| Dolby® Digital Plus | Dolby is a registered trademark of Dolby Laboratories. |
| ScreenTalk™ | ScreenTalk is a trademark of Dolby Laboratories. |
| EQ Assist™ | EQ Assist is a trademark of Dolby Laboratories. |
| MLP Lossless™ | MLP Lossless is a trademark of Dolby Laboratories. |
| Auto EQ™ | Auto EQ is a trademark of Dolby Laboratories. |
| Signature Microphone™ | Signature Microphone is a trademark of Dolby Laboratories. |
| Digital Media Adapter™ | Digital Media Adapter is a trademark of Dolby Laboratories. |
| Auditorium Assist™ | Auditorium Assist is a trademark of Dolby Laboratories. |
| Dialogue Intelligence™ | Dialogue Intelligence is a trademark of Dolby Laboratories. |
| Logo Marks | Trademark Acknowledgement |
 | The double-D symbol is a registered trademark of Dolby Laboratories. |
.gif "Dolby Corporate Logo") | Dolby and the double-D symbol are registered trademarks of Dolby Laboratories. |
 | Dolby and the double-D symbol are registered trademarks of Dolby Laboratories. |
 | Dolby and the double-D symbol are registered trademarks of Dolby Laboratories. |
 | Dolby and the double-D symbol are registered trademarks of Dolby Laboratories. |
 | Dolby, Pro Logic, and the double-D symbol are registered trademarks of Dolby Laboratories. |
 | Dolby, Pro Logic, and the double-D symbol are registered trademarks of Dolby Laboratories. |
 | The double-D symbol is a registered trademark of Dolby Laboratories. |
 | MLP Lossless is a trademark of Dolby Laboratories. |
| Tagline Marks | Trademark Acknowledgement |
| Breaking Sound Barriers™ | Breaking Sound Barriers is a trademark of Dolby Laboratories. |
| We've Got the Whole World Listening™ | We've Got the Whole World Listening is a trademark of Dolby Laboratories. |
| Surround in Motion™ | Surround in Motion is a trademark of Dolby Laboratories. |
| The Sound of Entertainment™ | The Sound of Entertainment is a trademark of Dolby Laboratories. |
The lists above do not include all Dolby trademarks. If you have questions, please contact us.
General Trademark Guidelines
Trademarks identify and distinguish the products of one company from those of another. They are also symbols of quality and good will. Trademarks can be any of the following:
- A single word, such as Dolby
- A combination of words, such as Pro Logic
- Slogans, such as We've Got the Whole World Listening
- Names, such as Dolby
- Numbers or combination of words and numbers, as with Pro Logic II
- Symbols, such as
- Sounds, such as Dolby’s symphonic sound mark
- Colors, scents, or shapes used to identify a single source of products
Service marks identify and distinguish the services of one company from that of another. For more than 35 years, Dolby has used Dolby and the double-D symbol in connection with the quality engineering and consulting services it provides to cinemas, studios, and broadcasters.
Trade names identify businesses. Sometimes a word may be a trade name and also used as a service mark to identify services, or as a trademark to identify products. For example, Dolby Laboratories uses Dolby in its company name, to render engineering or repair services, to identify professional products it manufactures, and also on consumer equipment manufactured by Dolby licensees. Trade names are different from trademarks and should not be marked as such.
