• by Ray Schultz , Columnist, September 25, 2024

Brands using Gmail will soon be able to display their logos in emails without a trademark registration. 

Google now supports Common Mark Certificates (CMC), a new type of certificate being issued by Certificate Authorities (CA) for use with BIMI (Brand Indicators for Message Identification).

BIMI allows authenticated brands to include their logo with emails. 

Email senders using Gmail on the web have needed a Verified Mark Certificate (VMC) to indicate authentication up to now. But that required a trademark registration.  

In contrast, CMC will allow businesses of any size to display their logos in the inbox. 

However, as with VMC, CMC requires strict DMARC enforcement to ensure that the emails are legitimate. 

Last year, Gmail added a blue checkmark for brands using BIMI. But with “a CMC, the sender's brand avatar will be displayed without the Gmail verified checkmark that's displayed for VMCs,” Google writes.   

“Google's move to support CMC for BIMI is a game-changer,” says Seth Blank, chair of the AuthIndicators Working Group, the developers of BIMI, and CTO at Valimail. “Without a Trademark requirement, BIMI is now broadly accessible, empowering businesses of all sizes to leverage this powerful technology.”

Blank adds: “Because BIMI is backed by DMARC at Enforcement, this leads to a more secure and richer email experience for users globally. For IT, this means a streamlined process for implementing BIMI, while for email marketers, it presents a golden opportunity to boost brand recognition and engagement in a crowded inbox.”

In a related development, Google has expanded its BIMI VMC coverage from the web to Android and iOS.