Commercialism Guidelines

Commercialism Guidelines

Per Event:

Although commerce is a driving force for our technologies, TAPPI technical sessions are not a platform for commercial (sales) presentations. Presentations that are technical and objective enhance the credibility of the presenter and his or her organization. Restricting commercialism ultimately benefits both the presenters and the TAPPI audience.

Excessive use of brand names, product names, logos, failure to substantiate performance claims, and failure to objectively discuss alternative methods, processes or equipment are indicators of a commercial sales presentation.

Please follow the guidelines below to avoid commercialism when preparing papers and presentations for TAPPI. See Guidelines for Preparing Paper and Presentations for help on technical content and style. 

Note: If the technical paper you submit does not comply with TAPPI guidelines, it will not be printed in the proceedings. You will be notified if any issues need to be addressed, and will have an opportunity to correct the problem.

General Guidelines

  • Company Names: Excessive use of company name and logo will be prohibited (See the detailed guidelines by TAPPI Division and Event above to learn how many times company names and logos can appear in papers and presentations at that event).
  • Names or logos of any company supplying goods or services must not appear on graphics.
  • Capitalization of Words within a Sentence: Capitalization of words within sentences should only be used for proper nouns (i.e. Words like spruce, winders, analyzer, softwoods, hardwoods, etc. should not be capitalized, italicized, or printed in bold)
  • Original Work: The author should present new technical information that promotes the technical advancement of the industry.

  • Substantiating Data: If products or services are described, all reported capabilities, features or benefits must be substantiated by data or by an explanation as to why the data are unavailable

  • References to Commercial Installations: Reference to specific installations of products or utilization of services is allowed, but only to the extent that such disclosure complies with TAPPI's Antitrust Policy and Commercialism Guidelines and is necessary for a full understanding of the technical point under discussion.
  • Trade Names: Excessive use of brand names, product names, trade names, or trademarks is forbidden. A general guideline is to use trade names and product names once in the beginning of the paper or presentation, and thereafter, to use generic descriptors, or neutral designations such as Type A, Type B, Type C, etc.
  • Capabilities: Discussions of corporate capabilities or experiences are prohibited unless they pertain to the specific presented data.
  • Graphics that primarily promote a product or service will not be allowed.
  • “Industry Practice” Statements: Reporting the extent of application of technologies, products or services should reflect the extent of application of all generically similar technologies, products or services in the field.
  • Ranking: Although general comparisons of products and services are prohibited, specific generic comparisons that are supported by the reported data are allowed.
  • Confidential Information: Some information about products or services described may be proprietary to the author’s company or to the user of the products or services, and, therefore, not be publishable. Conclusions and/or comparisons may be made only on the basis of reported data

  Specifically for Presentations

  • Company name and logo may be displayed on the first slide and last slide for TAPPICon. All other events can have the company logo and name on each slide once.
  • Graphics should relate specifically to the technical presentation.
  • Graphics that are not included in the pre-print must be reviewed in advance by TAPPI staff and have been determined to comply with TAPPI's commercialism guidelines and TAPPI's antitrust guidelines.
  • All presentations must be in compliance with TAPPI’s Antitrust policy and the above Commercialism policies. Your deck will be reviewed prior to your session. Any slides that are not compliant will not be allowed in your presentation.
  • Presentations are encouraged to use TAPPI’s slide deck template for uniformity and adherence to the commercialism guidelines.

Interpretation and Enforcement

  • Reviewers of papers will accept only those papers that comply with these guidelines.
  • Session Chairs are responsible to monitor the compliance of presentations to these guidelines.
  • While both TAPPI staff and technical reviewers will check manuscripts and graphics for commercialism, ultimately it is the responsibility of the Conference Technical Program Chair to enforce the guidelines through his or her Committee Technical Program Chairs or Session Chairs.
  • The author's employer will be notified in writing about the violation. Continued violations will result in a ban of presentations from the presenter’s company at TAPPI conferences for up to two years.

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