[IAEP] [SLOBS] Trademark policy

[Walter Bender]

At today's oversight board meeting, we continued our discussion of the
Sugar Labs trademark guidelines. As a result of the discussion, we
have made a number of chances, mostly minor, to the trademark
guidelines. I've included the draft text below; there is a version in
the wiki that indicates where specific changes have been made [1].
Note that we will also create an examples page similar to the Fedora
usage guidelines [2]. Note that the on-line version has some embedded
links to further explanations in several sections. Also, note that the
Marketing Team is working on some standard language to replace
placeholder language in Sections 2a and 2b. We hope to vote these
changes at our next meeting, 8 January 2010, so any comments or
feedback from the community would be appreciated.

[1] http://wiki.sugarlabs.org/go/Talk:Sugar_Labs/Governance/Trademark#Sugar_Trademark_Policy
[2] https://fedoraproject.org/wiki/Legal:Trademark_guidelines#Trademark_Usage_Guidelines

-walter

Sugar Trademark Policy

DRAFT: 30 December 2009

The purpose of this policy is to protect the public, by ensuring that
the identity, provenance, and open-source nature of Sugar Labs® remain
clear. Throughout this document, the "Marks" refers to the Sugar Labs
name and logo, individually or together. However, note that Section 5
provides guidelines for other marks that Sugar Labs uses. Sugar Labs
is a member project of the Software Freedom Conservancy, which is the
holder of the registered mark.

Guidelines for Using the Marks

1. The first or most prominent mention of the name should be
immediately followed by a symbol for registered trademark: "®" or
"(r)". For example: "Sugar Labs®" (our trademark registration
application for the logo is still pending).

This requirement is waived in all contexts where such marks are not
normally included: email, on-line discussion, non-graphical
advertisements (when permitted), and academic papers. We encourage the
use of the symbol whenever possible, but recognize that many
non-commercial and informal uses will omit it.

2. You may use the Sugar Labs Marks without prior written permission
for the following purposes (subject to the other sections):

    a.     To refer to the Sugar Labs software in substantially
unmodified form "substantially unmodified" means built from the source
code provided by the Sugar Labs project, possibly with minor
modifications including but not limited to: the enabling or disabling
of certain features by default, changes required for compatibility
with a particular operating system distribution, or the inclusion of
bug-fix patches). All such minor modifications must be released under
an approved license.

    If you are producing a new product which is based on Sugar Labs
software but which has more substantial changes than those described
in the previous paragraph, you may refer to your product as "derived
from", "based on", or "a derivative of" a Sugar Labs mark.

    b.     To identify Sugar Labs software as a distinct component of
a software offering. For example, "MyDistro, sweetened by Sugar" or
other "<product>, <joined with> Sugar" language would be a use that
does not require explicit written permission.

    c.     To refer to the Sugar Labs project itself, its products, or
its protocols.

3. You may use the Sugar Labs Marks as part of the name of a product
designed to work with Sugar Labs, so long as the name as a whole (via
its other components) clearly and unambiguously distinguishes the
product from Sugar Labs software itself, and the general presentation
of the product does not imply any official association or identity
with Sugar Labs. Because it would be awkward to attach a trademark
symbol to a portion of a larger name whose other portions might
themselves be trademarked, the requirement to display the symbol is
waived for this circumstance.

4. You may not use the Marks in the following ways:

    a.     In any way likely to cause confusion as to the identity of
the Sugar Labs project, the provenance of its software, or the
software's license (the Sugar Labs Marks should be secondary in
advertising materials, including graphics on websites, etc.);

    b.     In any way that indicates a greater degree of association
between you and the Sugar Labs project than actually exists;

    c.     In any way that implies a designated successor to Sugar
Labs (e.g., "Sugar Labs++" is not permitted).

    d.     In a way that indicates that Sugar Labs favors one
distribution, platform, product, etc. over another.

5. Sugar Labs also uses the following other marks, which we may choose
to register:

    a.     Sugar on a Stick:        You may produce and distribute
Sugar Labs software on a USB key. and refer to it as "Sugar on a
Stick". However, you are required encouraged to add a qualifying label
to distinguish it from "Sugar on a Stick" other distributions. For
example, the – that mark is associated with a specific Sugar Labs
liveUSB project.

    b.     Sugar Labs Partner:        "Sugar Labs Partner" should only
be used to refer to a person or entity that is officially affiliated
with the Sugar Labs project. Sugar Labs is happy to designate
partners, so please contact us if you are interested in becoming a
Sugar Labs Partner.

    c.     Sugar Ready:        "Sugar Ready" may be used to refer to
software certified by Sugar Labs to run on top of an official version
of Sugar Labs, please contact us if you are interested in receiving a
certification.

    d.     Sugar Learning Platform:        "Sugar Learning Platform"
should be used to refer to the software created by Sugar Labs and
should be used under the same guidelines as per Sections 2 and 3 of
this policy.

    e.     Sugar:        We sometimes use this term as a shortened way
to refer to software and other things created by Sugar Labs. Please
use this policy as guidance for use of these terms as well and contact
us if you are uncertain.

    f.     local Sugar Lab:        We have affiliated local and
regional Sugar Labs that are referred to Sugar Labs <Region Name>,
e.g., Sugar Labs Colombia. Sugar Labs is happy to designate local lab
partners, so please contact us if you are interested in establishing a
local Sugar Lab.

6. You may create and sell merchandise using the Sugar Labs name and
logo without additional permission provided that you use only
unmodified graphics from the logo page on the Sugar Labs website.
Please contact us if you would like to sell any other merchandise
containing Sugar Labs Marks. This section is subject to the provisions
contained in Sections 2 and 3 of this policy.

7. The Software Freedom Conservancy reserves the sole right to:

    a.     Determine compliance with this policy;

    b.     Modify this policy in ways consistent with its mission of
protecting the public;

    c.     Grant exceptions to this policy, of any kind and for any
reason whatsoever, other clauses notwithstanding.

8. Contact information

If you have questions about using the Marks, or if you think you
should be able to use the Marks for any purpose not allowed by this
policy and would like permission for that use, please contact Sugar
Labs by emailing [trademark at sugarlabs.org] or by writing to Sugar Labs
c/o Software Freedom Conservancy, 1995 BROADWAY FL 17, NEW YORK NY
10023-5882 USA.

-walter

-- 
Walter Bender
Sugar Labs
http://www.sugarlabs.org