James Beard Awards Marks Usage Guidelines

For more than 30 years, the James Beard Awards, among the nation’s most prestigious honors, have recognized leaders in the culinary and food media industries.


The James Beard Awards Mission

The mission of the James Beard Awards is to recognize exceptional talent and achievement in the culinary arts, hospitality, media, and broader food system, as well as a demonstrated commitment to racial and gender equity, community, sustainability, and a culture where all can thrive.


Scope and Purpose of the Guidelines

These guidelines describe the ways in which semifinalists, nominees, and winners of a James Beard Award may use the award and any related trademarks and other intellectual property owned by the James Beard Foundation (the “Foundation”), including the Foundation’s name, seal, medallion, image and logo, and the marks set forth on Schedule 1 (collectively, “James Beard IP”).

We recognize that a James Beard Award may provide important benefits to semifinalists, nominees, and winners. These guidelines help ensure that all semifinalists, nominees and winners understand how they may reference and use James Beard Awards and James Beard IP and protect the value and reputation of the James Beard Awards. By participating in the James Beard Awards, as a semifinalist, nominee, or winner, you agree to abide by the guidelines set forth in this document.

The James Beard Awards and James Beard IP are the sole and exclusive property of the Foundation. The Foundation has the sole and exclusive right to reproduce, manufacture, copy, sell, display images of and publish the James Beard Awards and James Beard IP in any size or medium (whether now known or hereafter developed), whether in three or two dimensions, and to distribute or produce reproductions of same by license or otherwise. All goodwill resulting from use of the James Beard Awards and James Beard IP by a semifinalist, nominee, or winner shall inure solely to the Foundation. For the avoidance of doubt, James Beard Award semifinalists, nominees, and winners obtain no trademark or other intellectual property rights in the James Beard Awards or James Beard IP.

The terms and conditions described in this document are the only terms and conditions upon which semifinalists, nominees, and winners may use the James Beard Awards and James Beard IP. No other use of a James Beard Award or James Beard IP (including commercial uses such as product/service/brand endorsement or branded products or services) is permitted without the express written consent of the Foundation.


Code of Ethics and Use

The Foundation, its James Beard Awards committee, and members of the James Beard Awards subcommittees have established a Code of Ethics as a guideline for all entrants, semifinalists, and nominees. All use of the James Beard Awards and James Beard IP, including in connection with James Beard Awards recognition (as a semifinalist, nominee or winner) is subject to and contingent on compliance with the Code of Ethics. The Foundation reserves the right to revoke and otherwise restrict use of the James Beard Awards and James Beard IP by any semifinalist, nominee, or winner if the James Beard Awards Independent Ethics Committee determines that such person has breached the Code of Ethics.

All semifinalists, nominees and winners, as well as the Foundation staff, board members, committee members, and judges must act in a manner that is consistent with the values of the Foundation and its James Beard Awards program, honoring and working individually and together in a fair and transparent manner to further our industry.

The Foundation reserves the right to inspect and evaluate the manner in which any semifinalist, nominee and winner uses the James Beard IP to confirm compliance with the terms herein. Without limiting the foregoing, at the reasonable request of the Foundation, semifinalists, nominees and winners will provide the Foundation with representative samples of materials (whether in paper, electronic, or other form or medium) bearing the James Beard IP as used by such semifinalists, nominees and winners for review by the Foundation to confirm compliance with the terms herein.

Usage Rules for James Beard Awards and James Beard IP

1. You may use a James Beard Award and the James Beard IP only for the following purposes:

  • Legitimate news reporting.
  • Adverting the specific achievement for which the award was received, for example, referring to the fact that a person was a semifinalist, nominee, or winner of a James Beard Award for publicity purposes including in news articles, websites, and other digital content, on menus, and in marketing/advertising for a program or event that the semifinalist, nominee, or winner is participating in or conducting.

    • Solely in the case of semifinalists, nominees or winners of the Restaurant and Chef Awards (and no other James Beard Award): referring to the specific achievement for which the Restaurant and Chef Award was received via use of the corresponding seal (see page 4 of the James Beard Awards Seal Usage Guidelines) on such semifinalists’, nominees’ or winners’ chefs’ jackets. All such uses on such jackets must be in accordance with any guidelines or specifications regarding use of the seal on any textiles or fabrics set forth on the James Beard Awards Seal Usage Guidelines or that may otherwise be provided to you by JBF.

  • Referring to the Foundation or the annual James Beard Awards presentation in stories, programs, and articles.

2. Each use of a James Beard Award or James Beard IP must specifically reference the award the recipient won or for which the nominee was nominated.

  • For example, the chef/owner of a James Beard Award-winning restaurant cannot refer to themselves as the winner of a James Beard Award, but rather must refer to themselves as “X, chef/owner of James Beard Award-winning restaurant, Y.”

3. Once the James Beard Awards have been announced for a given season, all James Beard Award semifinalists, nominees, and winners from prior seasons must include the year that they won or were nominated in any reference to the James Beard Awards.

4. All use of the James Beard Awards and James Beard IP should be in accordance with the following:

  • Always capitalize the first letter of each word of any James Beard Award or James Beard IP.
    • For example, James Beard Award, not James Beard award.
  • Never alter any aspect of the design, color, or other features of the James Beard Awards or James Beard IP without express written authorization from the Foundation.
  • The following are acceptable examples of how to reference a James Beard Award semifinalist, nominee, or winner: 
    • “James Beard Journalism Awards [semifinalist, honoree, nominee, winner] ™”
    • James Beard Leadership Award ™” 
    • “James Beard [Restaurant and Chef category] Award ™” 
    • “James Beard Lifetime Achievement Award [honoree] ™” 
    • “Recipient of the James Beard Humanitarian Award ™”
  • Any logo component of a James Beard Award can only be used in accordance with the accompanying James Beard Awards Seal Usage Guidelines. If you have any questions on how other James Beard IP should be presented (for example, with respect to CMYK color use, Pantone color or size), please contact us.

5. The following are expressly prohibited:

  • Use of the James Beard Awards or James Beard IP in a manner that may dilute, tarnish, disparage, or reflect adversely on the James Beard Awards or the Foundation, or use in jokes, puns, or otherwise in a derogatory fashion.
  • Use of the James Beard Awards or James Beard IP in combination with any other marks or to create derivative or composite trademarks. For clarity, no reproduction or derivative work or copy of the James Beard Awards or James Beard IP may be made or used by any manufacturer, advertiser, organization, or individual except in accordance with these guidelines or under express written license from the Foundation.
  • Any challenge to the Foundation’s ownership or to the validity of the James Beard Awards or the James Beard IP.
  • Any attempt to register the James Beard Awards or James Beard IP (or any other mark confusingly similar thereto) as a trademark or other attempt to obtain intellectual property rights therein. 
  • Use of James Beard IP constituting a seal, decal, or certificate:
    • on any packaged products (boxes, jars, bottles, other packaging); or 
    • as an imprint (digital or physical) on any book or published work where the work itself was not named a nominee or winner.

6. You must notify the Foundation if you observe or otherwise learn of any improper or infringing use of the James Beard Awards or James Beard IP.  Report as much detail as possible about the misuse or infringement, including the name of the party, contact information and copies or photographs of the potential misuse or infringement.

  • Use of James Beard Award Seal, Decal and Certificate
    • NOTE: Seals are both digital and printed; certificates are physical.
    • James Beard Award medallions and certificates are issued to a person or group of people who have won a James Beard Award. 
    • Semifinalists and nominees may use the digital seal for the James Beard Award for which they were nominated.

7. If, in the sole opinion of the James Beard Awards’ Independent Ethics Committee, any terms or conditions of these guidelines are violated, the violation must be corrected within ten calendar days following written notice thereof. Without prejudice to any other rights or remedies that may be available to the Foundation for such violation, failure to correct a violation may in the discretion of the Foundation result in a permanent ban on the use of James Beard Awards and James Beard IP, or other limitations or restrictions on the right to use the James Beard Awards and James Beard IP.

Questions

For questions related to the James Beard Awards, the James Beard IP, or these guidelines, please contact the Awards department at awards@jamesbeard.org. 

SCHEDULE 1

The James Beard IP includes, without limitation, the following: