openSUSE:Trademark guidelines

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Policies and guidelines
Trademark guidelines - Revised trademark guidelines - Use cases
With these Guidelines, we wish to encourage widespread use of the openSUSE trademarks by the openSUSE community while managing that use to protect the distinctive value of the trademarks and avoid confusion on the part of openSUSE users and the general public. The sections that follow describe the openSUSE Marks covered by these Guidelines, as well as uses of these Marks that are allowed, uses that are not allowed, and uses that are only allowed with specific permission. See "Contact Information" below to request permission.

The openSUSE Marks

These Guidelines cover the openSUSE marks in word or logo form. This set of marks is collectively referred to as the "openSUSE Marks."

General Guidelines for Using the openSUSE Marks

Product Quality

It is fundamentally important to us that any permitted use you make of the openSUSE Marks be of the highest quality and integrity and meet the highest standards. To ensure this is the case, we reserve the right to revoke your permission at any time.

Fair Use

We acknowledge and support your right to make "fair use" of the openSUSE Marks, and do not mean to suggest with these Guidelines that our permission is required in such cases. We cannot, however, tell you categorically what will and will not qualify as a "fair use."

For copies of the openSUSE logo itself, please refer to the Artwork page. There is also additional guidance about modifications you should avoid.

Contributing to openSUSE

We encourage everybody to contribute to openSUSE and become part of the openSUSE community. Contributors don't have to be employees of the owner of the openSUSE trademark or openSUSE members.

If your contributions require trademark usage which is not permitted by these guidelines, please don't hesitate to contact the openSUSE Board (see "Contact Information" below).

Use Cases for the openSUSE Marks

Redistributing openSUSE Without Modifications

You may use the openSUSE Marks to identify your redistribution of openSUSE with no modifications, meaning you are redistributing an official distribution from the openSUSE Project that has not been changed in any way.

Distributing openSUSE With Modifications

You may distribute openSUSE with modifications. Such distributions can be created via KIWI, the openSUSE Build Service or via your own build process.

In making such a distribution, you must remove all trademark uses of the openSUSE Marks from the version of openSUSE you are modifying. You may, if you wish, combine your own trademark with one of the following openSUSE Mark tag-lines (or its equivalent): "Based on openSUSE"; "Powered by openSUSE"; "Derived from openSUSE"; "Uses openSUSE"; "Built on openSUSE"; or "Built from openSUSE".

openSUSE provides a special set of branding packages for modified openSUSE versions. You may replace the official openSUSE branding packages by them, or you have to remove the official openSUSE branding packages on your modified version of openSUSE. In technical terms it means that for every packages which name ends with branding-openSUSE you have to either remove it, or replace it by the corresponding package, which name ends with branding-basedonopensuse.

Partial instructions on how to remove some trademark uses of the openSUSE Marks from openSUSE can be found at http://en.opensuse.org/SDB:Making_an_openSUSE_based_distribution

You generally will not need to remove or modify package headers, notes, README files, Changelogs, or other files containing uses of the openSUSE Marks that merely describe the openSUSE project, as long as such uses do not imply that you are formally affiliated with the openSUSE Project.

If you are including packages in your distribution that are not from the official openSUSE Project repositories, we encourage you to work within the openSUSE community to submit and maintain those packages within those repositories.

Linking to opensuse.org

We are pleased to permit you to link to opensuse.org from your web site. We have provided several logo graphics for you to choose from. To use these logos you must agree that:

  • The logos will be used only on the Internet, only as a link to opensuse.org, and not as a favicon;
  • You will not imply or state an endorsement by the openSUSE Project or otherwise misrepresent your relationship with the openSUSE Project;
  • You will not disparage the openSUSE Project using the logos;
  • Your use of the logos will not be deceptive or false in any regard;
  • You will not create a browser or border environment around openSUSE Project content;
  • You may link to openSUSE Project content, and will only replicate openSUSE Project content in accordance with the terms found at http://en.opensuse.org/Legal;
  • Your web site will not contain content that could be construed as distasteful, offensive, or controversial, and will contain only content that is appropriate for all age groups; and
  • This permission may be rescinded at any time, in which case you will immediately remove the logos from your web site.

Merchandise

You are welcome to make use of the openSUSE Marks to produce merchandise such as t-shirts, hats, bags, jackets, sweatshirts, mugs, and desktop wallpapers and give them to your friends, family, community members, provided there is no commercial interest behind it. You have to request permission if you want to commercially distribute articles using the openSUSE Marks (see "Contact Information" below to request permission).

Domain Names

If you want to include all or part of an openSUSE Mark in a domain name, you should seek our permission (see "Contact Information" below to request permission). People naturally associate domain names with organizations whose names sound similar. Almost any use of an openSUSE Mark in a domain name is likely to confuse someone, thus running afoul of the overarching requirement that any use of an openSUSE Mark not be confusing. By "domain name" we mean to refer to toplevel domains and second-level domains, but not sub-domains.

Advocacy Groups

We welcome the use of the openSUSE Marks in connection with user groups and other openSUSE advocacy groups, but you may only do so in accordance with the following requirements:

  • Your use is not commercial in nature;
  • In using an openSUSE Mark, you are in fact referring to the thing that the openSUSE Mark represents;
  • There is no suggestion (through words or appearance) that your group is approved by, sponsored by, or affiliated with the openSUSE Project (or its related projects) unless it actually has been so approved, sponsored, or affiliated;
  • You do not incorporate other proprietary or commercial names in your group name; and
  • You do not claim any trademark rights in the name, attempt to register the name with a trademark office or as a trade name, business name, or domain name, or conduct any business under the name.

Events

It is permissible to use the openSUSE Marks to promote free and open source software events where individuals in the openSUSE Project appear as ambassadors, distribute openSUSE media, or otherwise represent the Project, provided:

  • You do not misrepresent your relationship with the openSUSE Project;
  • You do not disparage the openSUSE Project using the openSUSE Marks; and
  • Your use of the openSUSE Marks is not deceptive or false in any regard.

Individuals can be openSUSE members, members of the wider openSUSE community, or openSUSE users.

Publications

If you want to include all or part of an openSUSE Mark in the name of a publication such as a book or magazine, you need our permission (see "Contact Information" below to request permission). But you can use the openSUSE Mark in e.g. a title of review inside a magazine.

Product and Service Names, and Compatibility References

You should not include an openSUSE Mark in the name of your product or service, regardless of whether it's commercial or non-commercial in nature. This includes online services, such as e-commerce, community, blog, informational, promotional, and personal home page sites.

With that said, we consider it permissible to use an openSUSE Mark in a file, folder, directory, or path name.

We also recognize that the openSUSE Community needs some way to identify projects, products, and services that are compatible with openSUSE. Our concern is that users not be confused as to whether a compatible project, product, or service is official or not. To address that concern, we request that you indicate compatibility with openSUSE using one of the following tag-lines (or its equivalent):

  • "Works with openSUSE";
  • "Uses openSUSE";
  • "Compatible with openSUSE";
  • "Powered by openSUSE";
  • "Runs on openSUSE";
  • "For use with openSUSE"; or
  • "For openSUSE".

Advertising and Marketing Materials, including Business Cards

You may use the openSUSE Marks in describing and advertising your openSUSE-related product or service, or on business cards to identify your affiliation with the openSUSE Project, so long as:

  • You do not imply or state an endorsement by the openSUSE Project or otherwise misrepresent your relationship with the openSUSE Project;
  • You do not disparage the openSUSE Project using the openSUSE Marks;
  • Your use of the openSUSE Marks is not deceptive or false in any regard;
  • Your description, advertising, or other use does not contain content that could be construed as distasteful, offensive, or controversial, and does contain only content that is appropriate for all age groups; and
  • Your use of the openSUSE Marks does not include or imply any commitment by the openSUSE Project to provide support, service, indemnification, or updates.

Business Names

You should not include an openSUSE Mark in the name of your company or business.

Commentary

We welcome comment and constructive criticism, and we try to have a good sense of humor. It's fine to use the openSUSE Marks in your discussion, commentary, criticism, or parody, in ways that unequivocally do not imply endorsement. Please do not create mock or parody products with names based on the openSUSE Marks. Also, please be aware that, in our opinion, it is not "fair use" to use the openSUSE Marks in a manner that disparages openSUSE technology or the openSUSE Project.

All Other Uses

All other uses of the openSUSE Marks need to be reserved by us, but we are available to discuss terms for use.

Contact Information

Please contact us if you need assistance regarding these Guidelines, e.g. for discussing your case or requesting permission, at board@lists.opensuse.org.

License for these Guidelines

These Guidelines are published under Version 3 of the Creative Commons Attribution Share-Alike License, and are derived in part from the OpenSolaris Trademark Policy 1.0 (May 5, 2008) , which in turn is derived in part from the Ubuntu and Mozilla Trademark guidelines.

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