Trademark Policy

Our trademarks—including the Commonhaus Foundation name, logo, and any project names and logos—represent the quality and reliability that our community expects. This document, the "Policy," defines our terms for the use of the Commonhaus Foundation’s (CF) trademarks.

Note

While our software is available under open source licenses, these licenses do not grant any rights to use our trademarks. This Policy is not intended to limit the lawful use of our trademarks but to clarify what we consider lawful use to be.

Trademark law can be ambiguous, so we aim to provide enough clarity for you to understand whether we will consider your use acceptable, either because it is licensed or it is non-infringing.

Purpose and Scope

Trademarks assure that products meet a certain standard of quality. However, because open source licenses allow anyone to modify the software freely, we cannot guarantee that modified versions distributed by others under the same name will maintain that standard. Following these guidelines will ensure that users know they are using or receiving software that meets the standards associated with the Commonhaus Foundation.

The sections that follow describe what trademarks are covered by this Policy and the uses of the trademarks that are allowed without additional permission from us. Please consult the Trademark Information and Guidelines document for additional details on proper use of trademarks and logos.

If your intended use is not covered here and you have not received separate written permission, you are responsible for assessing whether your use is lawful. For questions or clarification, please contact us.

Commitment to Open Source principles

The Commonhaus Foundation aims to foster community engagement with our trademarks, supporting their use in ways that highlight and extend the reach of our projects.

Our guidelines are designed to balance open community involvement with the need to protect the reputation of the Foundation and its Projects, as well as the meaning and value of our trademarks.

Covered Trademarks

This policy covers all trademarks and service marks associated with the Commonhaus Foundation, collectively referred to as "Marks", whether registered or not. This includes:

Trademark rights exist even if the Mark is not registered.

A non-exhaustive list of our Marks, including registered trademarks, service marks, pending registrations, and marks in use, is available at https://www.commonhaus.org/trademarks/.

Trademark usage guidelines

Whenever you use one of the Marks, you must always do so in a way that does not mislead anyone, either directly or by omission, about exactly what they are getting and from whom.

This principle is core to trademark law, prohibiting “likelihood of confusion” while allowing for "nominative use" when necessary for accurate identification.

Tip

Avoid causing confusion by ensuring that:

  • Modified software is clearly labeled as such and not presented as the original software.
  • You avoid using logos or other identifiers in ways that suggest an endorsement or official affiliation.

Examples of what you can say:

  • You like the Hibernate software
  • You participate in the Hibernate community
  • You are providing an unmodified version of the Hibernate software
  • You wrote a book describing how to use the Hibernate software.

This fundamental requirement, that it is always clear to people what they are getting and from whom, is reflected throughout this Policy. It should also serve as your guide if you are not sure about how you are using the Marks.

Restrictions on Similar Trademarks

Trademark law does not allow your use of names or trademarks that are too similar to ours.

In addition:

Uses we consider non-infringing

Distribution of unmodified source code or artifacts packaged by us

Redistribution of unmodified Commonhaus software (in source code or packaged form, such as executables, libraries, or jar files) is allowed. You may retain the Word Marks and Logos we’ve placed on the software to identify your redistribution if you distribute an official, unchanged Project version.

You can find files for the Logos and approved designs for packaging on our Brand Standards page.

Note

"Artifacts packaged by us" refers to items distributed directly by CF Projects

Distribution of modified source code or artifacts packaged by you

If you compile and distribute bitwise identical artifacts from our unmodified source code, you may retain our Word Marks and Logos.

For modifications (e.g., bug fixes that preserve compatibility with our artifacts), label your artifacts to indicate they were built by you.

Substantive changes should be treated as a fork, requiring changes to group or artifact identifiers. Avoid using our Logos in these cases, as the modified version originates with you. You may truthfully state that “this software is derived from the source code for Hibernate version 5.2”, as an example.

Statements about compatibility, interoperability or derivation

You may use the Word Marks, but not the Logos, to truthfully describe the relationship between your software and ours.

Our Mark should be used after a verb or preposition that describes the relationship between your software and ours.

Acceptable usage examples:

Counter-examples (may cause confusion):

Note

For plugins, extensions, and other add-on software, the "likelihood of confusion" concern runs counter to how we speak. Let's use Quarkus extensions as an example.

It may seem normal to say "Alice's Quarkus extension", but "Quarkus extension" can be understood two different ways. That phrase could be interpreted to mean either "Alice's extension for Quarkus" or "an extension for Alice's Quarkus". By using this form, you've introduced a possible misunderstanding about the source of Quarkus. The prepositional form, "Alice's extension for Quarkus" avoids that ambiguity.

Use of trademarks to show community affiliation

This section outlines the use of our Marks in community contexts, such as avatars, decorative skins, or themes. Guidelines for using our Marks on websites are addressed separately below.

You are welcome to use our Word Marks and Logos in non-commercial, decorative contexts—such as avatars, themes, or personas—to show your support for the Project, provided that your usage does not imply official representation, endorsement, or affiliation with the Foundation, Project, or community.

Websites

You may use the Word Marks and Logos, but not the Trade Dress, on your webpage to show your support for the Foundation or its Projects as long as:

Publications and presentations

You can use the Word Marks in book and article titles, and the Logo in illustrations within the document, as long as the use does not suggest that we have published, endorse, or agree with your work.

Events

You can use the signage in the Brand Standards to promote the Foundation and/or its Projects at events.

Uses for which we are granting a license

User groups

You can use the Word Marks as part of your user group name provided that:

Note that the general considerations for all uses, above, still apply. Specifically, you may not use or register the Marks as part of your own trademark, service mark, domain name, company name, trade name, product name or service name.

Promotional goods

"Promotional goods" are non-software goods that use the Marks and that are intended to advertise, promote, or show membership in the Foundation or its Projects.

You may make promotional goods for free giveaway at technology-related conferences and events using resources from our Brand Standards site.

Uses we consider infringing without seeking further permission from us

We will likely consider the following usages an infringement of our Marks:

Reporting Abuse or Seeking Information

Please contact us if you notice misuse of our Marks or have questions about acceptable use.

Policy modifications and updates

The Commonhaus Foundation may modify or update this Trademark Policy as needed. You are responsible for staying informed about the most recent trademark guidelines. Amendments or changes to this policy will follow the amendment process.

Visit http://www.commonhaus.org/policies/trademark-policy/ for the current version.

Contact and further information

A list of the Commonhaus Foundation’s registered trademarks, pending registrations, and trademarks in use can be found at https://www.commonhaus.org/trademarks/.

For additional information, to request written permission, or to report misuse, use our online form.

Attribution

This policy is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International license (“CC BY 4.0”, available at https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0).

This work is inspired by the Model Trademark Guidelines, available at http://www.modeltrademarkguidelines.org. (licensed under "CC BY 3.0"), the OpenJS Foundation Trademark Policy (licensed under “CC BY 4.0”), and the GNOME Foundation's Trademark Usage Guidelines for Third Parties

  1. This clause clarifies that any positive reputation or goodwill created through your use of the trademark belongs to the Foundation (and the Project), not to you as the user. This means you agree not to claim ownership of the mark or any reputation associated with it. ↩︎