‘As seen on’ and ‘featured in’ media badges on a practice website: paid placements, outlet logos and clips

A row of television and newspaper logos under the headline, labeled “As seen on” or “Featured in”, is a familiar trust signal, and practice websites use it too. It works because readers assume a newsroom chose to cover the practice. That assumption is exactly where the legal risk sits. If the segment was bought, if the outlet never covered the practice, if the logo suggests the outlet endorses the practice, or if the clip shows a patient, the badge can say more than the facts support.

This guide covers the badge itself: what a media mention has to be before you claim it, paid segments and sponsored articles presented as coverage, using outlet names and logos under trademark law, reposting a broadcast clip, patients who appear in coverage, and the state board advertising rules that apply. For writing the press release and handling interviews, see our guide to press releases and media interviews; for a reporter who asks about a patient, our guide to HIPAA and media inquiries; for award seals and rankings, our guide to top doctor awards and badges. If the coverage was paid for, see our guide to sponsored articles and advertorials.

The short version

• “As seen on” and “Featured in” are factual claims. The FTC Act prohibits deceptive acts or practices in commerce (15 USC 45(a)(1)), and the FTC judges an ad by the net impression it is likely to make.
• A segment, article or appearance the practice paid for is advertising. Presenting it as coverage without saying it was paid can mislead, and Texas expressly treats a failure to disclose a “paid for” presentation as false, deceptive or misleading advertising (22 TAC 164.3(b)(7)).
• An outlet’s logo is a trademark. The Lanham Act creates liability for uses likely to cause confusion about affiliation, sponsorship or approval (15 USC 1125(a)(1)(A)). The outlet’s name in plain text, used only to say where you appeared, carries less risk than its logo.
• A broadcast clip belongs to whoever holds its copyright, and reproducing or publicly performing it is one of the owner’s exclusive rights (17 USC 106). Link to the outlet’s page or ask permission before you re-upload it.
• A patient who appears in coverage you reuse in your marketing needs a signed HIPAA authorization from the practice (45 CFR 164.508), even if they agreed to be filmed by the station.
• Show the date and the topic of each mention, and retire mentions that no longer describe the practice.

What has to be true before you claim a mention

Section 5 of the FTC Act declares unfair or deceptive acts or practices in or affecting commerce unlawful (15 USC 45(a)(1)). The FTC Policy Statement on Deception says the Commission will find deception if there is a representation, omission or practice that is likely to mislead the consumer acting reasonably in the circumstances, to the consumer’s detriment, and that the meaning of an ad depends on the net impression it is likely to make. A logo strip has a net impression of its own: that independent news organizations chose to report on this practice.

No federal rule defines what counts as being “featured”. We recommend a simple test before any outlet name goes on the site: could you send a reader to the actual story or segment, and would they find your practice or one of your clinicians in it? On that test, these fail and should stay off a badge:

• A press release that a wire service distributed and that automated sites republished word for word. That is your own text on someone else’s page, not coverage.
• A paid listing, directory entry or advertisement in the outlet.
• A quote from a different practice, a professional society or a national organization you belong to.
• A segment about a treatment in general that never named or showed your practice.
• An appearance by a clinician who has since left the practice.

The FTC Endorsement Guides add a related point. 16 CFR 255.0(b) says the name or seal of an organization can be an endorsement. A news outlet that interviewed your physician did not endorse your practice, so a layout that presents its logo like a seal of approval risks suggesting an endorsement that does not exist. Wording such as “Dr. [Name] was interviewed by [Station] about [topic], [month and year]” describes what happened without implying the station recommends you.

Paid segments and sponsored articles presented as coverage

Media exposure can also be bought: a sponsored segment on a local lifestyle show, an advertorial in a regional magazine, a paid “expert” spot on a radio program, or a package sold as a way to earn an “as seen on” badge. Our press release guide covers how to label that content when it runs. The question here is what happens when it is later shown on your website as if it were news.

Three of the rules point the same way:

• Texas: 22 TAC 164.3(b)(7) deems it false, deceptive or misleading for a physician to fail to disclose that an advertisement, article or infomercial is a “paid for” presentation.
• California: Business and Professions Code section 651(b)(2) says a false or misleading statement includes one that is likely to mislead or deceive because of a failure to disclose material facts. Section 651(a) lists television, radio, newspaper and the Internet among the forms of public communication it covers.
• Florida: Board of Medicine rule 64B8-11.001(2) deems advertising false, deceptive or misleading if it contains a misrepresentation of facts (paragraph (a)) or makes only a partial disclosure of relevant facts (paragraph (b)).

No federal rule prescribes the wording for a paid mention on a practice website. We recommend either leaving paid placements out of an “as seen on” strip entirely, or listing them separately with a plain label such as “Sponsored segment, paid for by [Practice name]”. When a guest spot came with payment, free airtime or another benefit to the clinician, the material connection rule in 16 CFR 255.5(a) may also apply; our press release guide covers it.

Outlet names and logos: trademark law

Station call letters, network names, newspaper mastheads and their logos are trademarks. The Lanham Act creates civil liability for anyone who uses in commerce a word, name, symbol or device, or a false or misleading representation of fact, that is likely to cause confusion, mistake or deception as to their affiliation, connection or association with another person, or as to the origin, sponsorship or approval of their goods, services or commercial activities by another person (15 USC 1125(a)(1)(A)). Section 1125(a)(1)(B) separately covers commercial advertising that misrepresents the nature, characteristics or qualities of goods, services or commercial activities.

Using someone else’s mark to refer to them is not automatically infringement. Courts call this nominative fair use. In Toyota Motor Sales v. Tabari (2010), the Ninth Circuit restated its three-factor test: whether the product was readily identifiable without use of the mark, whether the defendant used more of the mark than necessary, and whether the defendant falsely suggested sponsorship or endorsement by the trademark holder. The court held that the brokers’ use of the stylized mark and logo was more use than necessary and suggested sponsorship, because they could communicate their message without the visual trappings of the brand, and it noted that a disclaimer, while not required, is relevant to the analysis. The federal dilution statute also excludes nominative fair use from dilution claims when the mark is not used as a designation of source for the user’s own goods or services (15 USC 1125(c)(3)(A)).

We cite Tabari as one appeals court’s test, not as the rule in all circuits. Applied to a media badge, it suggests a lower-risk pattern:

• Name the outlet in plain text rather than reproducing its logo, unless the outlet has given written permission to use the logo.
• Say what the mention was: an interview, a quote, a guest segment, with the topic and date.
• Keep the outlet’s name smaller than your own and away from your brand mark, so it does not read as a partnership.
• Add a short note such as “Media mentions are listed for reference and do not imply endorsement by these organizations.”

Reposting the clip or the article

A broadcast segment or a newspaper article is a copyrighted work. 17 USC 106 gives the copyright owner the exclusive rights to reproduce the work, to perform audiovisual works publicly and to display it publicly, and to authorize others to do so. Downloading a segment and uploading it to your website or social channels reproduces and publicly performs it. The fair use statute, 17 USC 107, weighs four factors, including the purpose and character of the use (including whether it is of a commercial nature), the amount used in relation to the whole work, and the effect on the potential market for the work.

No rule tells a practice which reuse a station will tolerate. We recommend linking to the segment on the outlet’s own site, or asking the outlet in writing for permission to embed or repost it and keeping that permission with your advertising records. A short quote from an article, attributed and linked, is a different use from re-uploading a full segment, but it still needs to be accurate and in context: 16 CFR 255.1(b) says an endorsement may not be presented out of context or reworded so as to distort the endorser’s opinion.

Patients who appear in the coverage

A news segment about a practice can include a patient. The patient may have signed the station’s release, but that release is between the patient and the station. When the practice puts the clip or a still from it on its own website, in an ad or on its social accounts, the practice is the one using the patient’s image and the fact that they are a patient.

Under 45 CFR 164.508(a)(1), a covered entity may not use or disclose protected health information without a valid authorization except as the Privacy Rule otherwise permits or requires, and 164.508(a)(3) requires an authorization for any use or disclosure of protected health information for marketing, with narrow exceptions for face-to-face communications and promotional gifts of nominal value. A valid authorization has to describe the information, name who may receive it and describe each purpose (164.508(c)(1)). We recommend a separate authorization from the practice that names the clip, your website and each social channel, signed before the clip goes up. If a patient will not sign, use a version of the coverage that does not show or name them, or leave it off.

The same caution applies to staff. A clinician who appears in old coverage and has left the practice is still identifiable, and showing them can suggest they still treat patients there. Florida’s rule 64B8-11.001(2)(d) treats as misleading any representation as to which the physician referred to in the advertising does not expect to perform.

Questions to ask before the badge goes up

• Can we link each outlet named to a story or segment that features our practice or clinicians?
• Was any of it paid for, sponsored, or given in exchange for advertising, and is that disclosed?
• Are we using the outlet’s name in plain text, or its logo, and do we have permission for the logo?
• Does the layout suggest the outlet recommends or partners with us?
• Are we linking to the clip or re-uploading it, and do we have the outlet’s written permission to repost?
• Does the coverage show or name a patient, and have they signed our own authorization for this use?
• Do the clinicians shown still practice here, and is the date of each mention visible?
• Which state board advertising rules apply to each clinician named?

Use and avoid

• Use: “Dr. [Name] spoke with [Station] about seasonal allergies, April 2026” with a link to the station’s page.
• Avoid: a strip of network logos labeled “As seen on” with no dates, links or topics.
• Use: “Sponsored segment, paid for by [Practice name]” next to a paid appearance.
• Avoid: a bought lifestyle segment listed with the news coverage.
• Use: the outlet’s name in plain text, plus a note that mentions do not imply endorsement.
• Avoid: an outlet’s logo sized and placed like a partner or accreditation seal.
• Use: a link to the segment on the outlet’s site, or a repost with written permission.
• Avoid: a downloaded segment re-uploaded to your channel, with a patient in it who never signed your authorization.

An illustration

This example is invented. [Practice name], a med spa, adds a banner reading “As seen on” with five television and magazine logos. One logo comes from a morning show segment the practice paid for through a media package. Two come from a press release that automated news sites republished. One comes from a magazine piece that quoted a professional society, not the practice. Only one, a local news interview with the medical director, is earned coverage, and that segment shows a patient during a treatment. The practice has downloaded the segment and posted it on its homepage.

The revised page looks different. The banner is replaced with a short Media section. The local news interview is listed in plain text with its date and topic and links to the station’s page, and the homepage video comes down until the practice has the station’s written permission and the patient’s signed authorization naming the website. The morning show appearance is listed under a separate label, “Sponsored segment, paid for by [Practice name]”. The republished press release and the magazine piece are removed, and a note says the mentions do not imply endorsement.

Checklist

• List each media mention with the outlet, topic, date and a link to the original.
• Drop mentions you cannot link to coverage of the practice or its clinicians.
• Separate and label any paid, sponsored or advertising-linked appearance.
• Use outlet names in plain text unless you have written permission to use a logo.
• Add a note that media mentions do not imply endorsement.
• Link to clips on the outlet’s site, or keep written permission to repost.
• Get a practice authorization under 45 CFR 164.508 from any patient shown before reuse.
• Remove or date mentions featuring clinicians who have left.
• Check the advertising rule of each state board whose licensees are named.
• Keep a copy of the page, the permissions and the authorizations with your advertising records.

How we help

We build websites, local and organic search, Google Ads and lead generation and an AI front desk for independent practices. For a practice with media coverage, that means a dated, linked media page that shows real coverage without overstating it, and landing pages that carry the same accuracy into ads. Our tools are built with HIPAA in mind. We confirm in writing what a BAA covers before any patient information flows through a tool, and if it is not covered, we do not route patient information through it. We are not a healthcare provider and we do not give legal or medical advice. For the wider rules, see our healthcare marketing rules guide.

Sources

• 15 USC 45: Unfair methods of competition unlawful
• FTC Policy Statement on Deception (October 14, 1983)
• 16 CFR 255.0: Purpose and definitions (Endorsement Guides)
• 16 CFR 255.1: Endorsements, general considerations
• 16 CFR 255.5: Disclosure of material connections
• 15 USC 1125: False designations of origin, false descriptions, and dilution
• Toyota Motor Sales, U.S.A., Inc. v. Tabari, No. 07-55344 (9th Cir. July 8, 2010)
• 17 USC 106: Exclusive rights in copyrighted works
• 17 USC 107: Limitations on exclusive rights, fair use
• 45 CFR 164.508: Uses and disclosures for which an authorization is required
• California Business and Professions Code section 651
• 22 Texas Administrative Code 164.3: Prohibited acts or omissions in advertising (Texas Medical Board)
• Florida Administrative Code rule 64B8-11.001: Advertising (Board of Medicine)

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