Technical Updates


Wednesday, 01 December 2010
Revised Trademark Standard for Certificate Holders: FSC-STD-50-001 V1-2

FSC received considerable feedback from stakeholders on the first version of the FSC Trademark Standard for Certificate Holders (FSC-STD-50-001) launched in March 2010. This feedback identified the need for several immediate revisions to make use of the FSC trademarks simpler, more coherent, and relevant to changing market demands.


Taking into account the comments received from stakeholders, FSC National Offices assisted FSC Global Development in an abbreviated revision process. We would like to personally thank all of you for your engagement and helpful comments and recommendations, many of which were incorporated into a recently released FSC-STD-50-001 (V1-2) (effective December 1, 2010).

Changes reflected in FSC-STD-50-001 (V1-2) include new requirements regarding size, color, border use and background. Please find the relevant clauses below:

  • Translation of FSC name (1.14)
  • Mini label (3.3, 3.3.1)
  • Labeling arrangement (4.5)
  • FSC trademarks for promotion at trade fairs (8.3)
  • Color regulations (10.1.2, 10.1.3)
  • Border requirements (10.2, 10.2.1)
  • Background regulations (10.14, 11.5, 11.9)
  • Size of the extra logo (11.8, 11.8.1)

In addition, the transition period for compliance to the new standard has been extended. Certificate holders must be in full compliance with FSC-STD-50-001 (V1-2) by July 1, 2011. Until July 1, 2011, certificate holders may also employ any of the following older trademark standards: FSC-STD-50-001 (V1-0), FSC-STD-50-201 (V1-0) or FSC-TMK-40-201 (V2-0).

Please be aware that a more comprehensive review of the trademark standard will begin in early next year. We ask all those who provided recent comments and feedback to continue to remain engaged and assist us in this review and ultimately in the development of a future Version 2 of the trademark standard.