>I am thinking about selling some products with VFP7 or VB.NET printed on them. These "words" aren't copyrighted by MS. Does anyone know Microsoft's opinion on such things? Anyone have a contact at Microsoft that could give me an answer about this?


Hi Evan,

This is a bit wordy, but maybe it will help you...

Back in Feb. I inquired as to the use of some MS logos just on my website, mainly VFP, and was told to refer to www.microsoft.com/permission/ (the e-mail respone is below). After trying to read through the Use of Images and Use of Text sections on www.microsoft.com/permission/, it wasn't clear if only Box Shots were "officially" allowed and not the VFP banners, etc.

It is possible that since you are selling products, they might have to be independently tested before carrying a MS logo or referring to an MS product. The cost for having this done for a "Windows 2000 Compatible" logo was like $800 USD and had to be done via www.veritest.com/mslogos/index.asp

Since many of you have a better contact channel with MS, if you find anything out, please let me know as well. Thanks.

- Brian


<snip>

Hello!

Thank you for your interest in Microsoft logos and branding. For complete
information and details regarding available Microsoft logo programs and
copyrights, please refer to http://www.microsoft.com/permission/

Currently the MSDN logo is not available for use. Also, the MSDN Business
Connection does not have an official logo, and the 'handshake' watermark is
not available for use either. You are welcome to state on your website and
in your company literature that you are a member of the MSDN Business
Connection.

Best wishes on all your development projects!

MSDN BizConn Team
http://msdn.microsoft.com/bizconn