Editorial Style Guide February 2018
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Editorial Style Guide February 2018 Creative Services Revision 1.2 [email protected] Table of Contents Editorial Style Guide Notes for Sub-Brands (such as LaCie) External References Definitive Guides Legal Guidelines for Writing Legal Review Process Disclaimers Disclaimer Elements Typical Disclaimer Trademarks Trademark Use With Company Name Trademark Use With Product or Feature Names Third-Party Trademarks Corporate Current Products Legacy Products Current Features/Technologies Legacy Features/Technologies Permissions, Disclosures, and Citations Designer Credits Warranty Use of Language Compound Words 1 Numbers Units of Measure Rounding Areal Density Capacity Dimensions Electricity Performance/Speed Power Dissipation Shock Sound Temperature Time Vibration Lists Capitalization Punctuation Apostrophes Commas Semicolons Colons Dashes Parentheses Ellipses Multiplication Sign Quotation Marks Italics 2 URLs Acronyms and Abbreviations Acronyms to Avoid Acronyms You Do Not Have to Spell Out Word List Sub-Brand-Specific Exceptions LaCie 3 Editorial Style Guide This style guide establishes writing style conventions for Seagate and sub-brand writers and editors in order to help them achieve stylistic consistency across all platforms. This document is the sole point of reference for all public-facing copy published by Seagate and Seagate sub-brands. Send questions, comments, and suggestions to: [email protected] Notes for Sub-Brands (such as LaCie) Per company strategy, some sub-brands may be expected to maintain their unique voice, despite being a holding of Seagate. However, in the interest of centralizing copy standards across all of Seagate and its sub-brands, we expect all sub-brands to use this document as the single point of reference for copy standards. However, to reflect sub-brand independence, a section at the end of this document notes exceptions to standards for sub-brands. External References Definitive Guides ➢ The Chicago Manual of Style (University of Chicago Press, subscription only) ➢ Merriam-Webster Dictionary (unabridged, subscription only) ➢ Merriam-Webster Dictionary (non-subscription, free access) ➢ Associated Press Stylebook (for press releases, subscription only) If any section of this document deviates from the Chicago Manual of Style or Merriam Webster, this document takes precedence. For questions about corporate identity and messaging, see the Seagate Brand Guide Identity Standards under the Brand tab at the Seagate Brand Portal, and the LaCie Brand Standards Guide under the Brand tab at the LaCie Brand Portal. Legal Guidelines for Writing All Seagate marketing materials require a disclaimer and a review by legal before being made public. This section provides details about the legal review process and working with disclaimers. Legal Review Process The legal review process is as follows: 4 1. The writer(s) complete a final draft of new content. The writer(s) use their knowledge of legal guidelines provided by this document and experience to make the content comply with legal requirements as much as possible. 2. The draft is sent to the editor for a final check. 3. The editor sends the draft to the legal department for review. 4. The legal department has five business days to review the content and make any changes or corrections. If there is no response, the document is considered approved by legal. If there is a response, the writer(s) and editor make changes and review as required. 5. The content is ready for publication. Disclaimers A disclaimer is any statement that specifies or delimits the scope of rights and obligations that may be exercised and enforced by parties in a legally recognized relationship. Disclaimers appear at the end of all Seagate marketing documents. Disclaimer Elements This section describes how to create a customized disclaimer. It includes information for creating a complete disclaimer, or adding on specific elements to handle special cases with content. Open your disclaimer with this wording, using appropriate year: © 2018 Seagate Technology LLC. All rights reserved. FOR SEAGATE: The first trademark copy statement is for Seagate house marks. It is always the same and must always be included: Seagate, Seagate Technology, and the Spiral logo are registered trademarks of Seagate Technology LLC in the United States and/or other countries. FOR LACIE: The first trademark copy statement is for Seagate/LaCie house marks. It is always the same and must always be included: Seagate, Seagate Technology, LaCie, and the LaCie logo are registered trademarks of Seagate Technology LLC in the United States and/or other countries. The second trademark copy statement is for Seagate and LaCie sub-brands product and technology marks. List Seagate and LaCie sub-brands referenced in the publication, in alphabetical order (first copy block is for multiple marks, second is for one mark): [Mark1] and [Mark2] are either trademarks or registered trademarks of Seagate Technology LLC or one of its affiliated companies in the United States and/or other countries. [Mark1] is either a trademark or registered trademark of Seagate Technology LLC or one of its affiliated companies in the United States and/or other countries. 5 If we include the FIPS 140-2 Validated logo, include the following after the second trademark copy statement: The FIPS logo is a certification mark of NIST, which does not imply product endorsement by NIST, the U.S., or Canadian governments. Only upon agreement with third parties do we include statements for their marks. Refer to their editorial guidelines or provided wording. Examples: Adobe: Adobe, Creative Cloud, and Adobe Premiere are either registered trademarks or trademarks of Adobe Systems Incorporated in the United States and/or other countries. Amazon: Amazon and all related logos are trademarks of Amazon.com, Inc. or its affiliates. DJI: DJI, the DJI logo, and Mavic are trademarks of DJI. Intel: Thunderbolt and the Thunderbolt logo are trademarks of Intel Corporation in the U.S. and/or other countries. Sony: PlayStation is a registered trademark of Sony Computer Entertainment Inc. PS4 is a trademark of the same company. The third trademark copy statement is about third-party marks. Always the same. Always include. All other trademarks or registered trademarks are the property of their respective owners. If we mention product capacity, include the following (removing GB reference unless GB is mentioned, adding PB reference if it is mentioned: one petabyte, or PB, equals 1000TBs, all with appropriate punctuation and edits as needed): When referring to drive capacity, one gigabyte, or GB, equals one billion bytes and one terabyte, or TB, equals one trillion bytes. Your computer’s operating system may use a different standard of measurement and report a lower capacity. In addition, some of the listed capacity is used for formatting and other functions, and thus will not be available for data storage. If we have some mention of quantitative usage (such as, 20,000 digital photos), include the following: Quantitative usage examples for various applications are for illustrative purposes. Actual quantities will vary based on various factors, including file size, file format, features, and application software. If we mention speeds or data rates (such as max. external transfer rate), include the following: Actual data rates may vary depending on operating environment and other factors, such as chosen interface and disk capacity. If we mention Self-Encrypting Drive (SED) or encryption, include the following: The export or re-export of Seagate hardware or software is regulated by the U.S. Department of Commerce, Bureau of Industry and Security (for more information, visit www.bis.doc.gov), and may be controlled for export, import, and use in other countries. If we mention media functionality (ripping, movie backup, peer-to-peer sharing, etc.), include the following: Complying with all applicable copyright laws is the responsibility of the user. If product includes access to copyrighted material (such as source code), include the following: All coded instruction and program statements contained herein is, and remains copyrighted works and confidential proprietary information of Seagate Technology LLC or its affiliates. Any use, derivation, dissemination, reproduction, or any attempt to modify, reproduce, distribute, disclose copyrighted material of Seagate Technology LLC, for any reason, in any manner, medium, or form, in whole or in part, if not expressly authorized, is strictly prohibited. 6 If product includes a battery (such as Seagate Wireless Plus), include the following: Exact battery life subject to product model, normal usage conditions, and configurations. Dispose of used batteries properly. Always end with this disclaimer: Seagate reserves the right to change, without notice, product offerings or specifications. Typical Disclaimer This sample disclaimer shows the copy typically needed for Seagate marketing collateral copy: © 2018 Seagate Technology LLC. All rights reserved. Seagate, Seagate Technology, and the Spiral logo are registered trademarks of Seagate Technology LLC in the United States and/or other countries. [Mark A], [Mark B], and [Mark C] are either trademarks or registered trademarks of Seagate Technology LLC or one of its affiliated companies in the United States and/or other countries. All other trademarks or registered trademarks are the property of their respective owners. When referring to drive capacity,