OpenSSL

Cryptography and SSL/TLS Toolkit

Trademark Policy

Last modified 27th October 2017

Introduction

This policy is derived from the Debian Trademark Policy, with thanks.

OpenSSL is committed to protect and ensure consistent usage of its trademark, logos, and styles and also make it easier for every bonafide user to use. As a part of this process, the OpenSSL trademark is a registered United States trademark of the OpenSSL Software Foundation. For registration outside the United States, we have filed a Madrid Protocol application to extend the protection in the European Union, China and Japan.

Trademark Policy

This policy encompasses all marks, in word and logo form, collectively referred to as “OpenSSL trademarks.”

The objective of this trademark policy is:

  1. to encourage widespread use and adoption of the OpenSSL trademarks,
  2. to clarify proper usage of OpenSSL trademarks by third parties,
  3. to prevent misuse of OpenSSL trademarks that can confuse or mislead users with respect to OpenSSL or its affiliates.

Please note that it is not the goal of this policy to limit commercial activity around OpenSSL. We encourage businesses to work on OpenSSL while being compliant with this policy.

Following are the guidelines for the proper use of OpenSSL trademarks by publishers and other third parties. Any use of or reference to OpenSSL trademarks that is inconsistent with these guidelines, or other unauthorized use of or reference to OpenSSL trademarks, or use of marks that are confusingly similar to OpenSSL trademarks, is prohibited and may violate OpenSSL trademark rights.

Any use of OpenSSL trademarks in a misleading and false manner or in a manner that disparages OpenSSL, such as untruthful advertising, is always prohibited.

When You Can Use the OpenSSL Trademarks Without Asking Permission

  1. You can use OpenSSL trademarks to make true factual statements about OpenSSL or communicate compatibility with your product truthfully.
  2. Your intended use qualifies as “nominative fair use” of the OpenSSL trademarks, i.e., merely identifying that you are talking about OpenSSL in a text, without suggesting sponsorship or endorsement.
  3. You can use OpenSSL trademarks to describe or advertise your services or products relating to OpenSSL in a way that is not misleading.
  4. You can use OpenSSL trademarks to describe OpenSSL in articles, titles or blog posts.
  5. You can make t-shirts, desktop wallpapers, caps, or other merchandise with OpenSSL trademarks for non-commercial usage.
  6. You can also make merchandise with OpenSSL trademarks for commercial usage. In case of commercial usage, we recommend that you truthfully advertise to customers which part of the selling price, if any, will be donated to the OpenSSL project.

When You Can NEVER Use the OpenSSL Trademarks Without Asking Permission

  1. You cannot use OpenSSL trademarks in any way that suggests an affiliation with or endorsement by the OpenSSL project or community, if the same is not true.
  2. You cannot use OpenSSL trademarks in a company or organization name or as the name of a product or service.
  3. You cannot use a name that is confusingly similar to OpenSSL trademarks.
  4. You cannot use OpenSSL trademarks in a domain name, with or without commercial intent.

How to Use the OpenSSL Trademarks

  1. Use the OpenSSL trademarks in a manner that makes it clear that your project is related to the OpenSSL project, but that it is not part of OpenSSL, produced by the OpenSSL project, or endorsed by the OpenSSL project.

  2. Acknowledge OpenSSL Software Foundation’s ownership of the OpenSSL trademark prominently. For example:

    [TRADEMARK] is a (“registered,” if applicable) trademark owned by the OpenSSL Software Foundation.

  3. Include a disclaimer of sponsorship, affiliation, or endorsement by OpenSSL on your website and on all related printed materials. For example:

    X PROJECT is not affiliated with OpenSSL. OpenSSL is a registered trademark owned by OpenSSL Software Foundation.

  4. Distinguish the OpenSSL trademarks from the surrounding words by italicizing, bolding or underlining it.

  5. Use the OpenSSL trademarks in their exact form, neither abbreviated or hyphenated, nor combined with any other word or words.

  6. Do not create acronyms using the OpenSSL trademarks.

Permission To Use

When in doubt about the use of OpenSSL trademarks, or to request permission for uses not allowed by this policy, please send an email to . Be sure to include the following information in the body of your message:

  • Name of the User
  • Name of the organization/project
  • Purpose of Use (commercial/non-commercial)
  • Nature of Use

Guidelines for Using Logos

  • Any scaling must retain the original proportions of the logo.
  • Do not use the OpenSSL logos as part of your company logo or product logo or branding itself. They can be used as part of a page describing your products or services.
  • You need not ask us for permission to use logos on your own website solely as a hyperlink to the OpenSSL project website.

For any queries with respect to these guidelines, please send an email to .

Organisations Licensed to Use OpenSSL Trademarks

The following organisations have been licensed to use the OpenSSL trademark through a License Agreement:

  1. OpenSSL Validation Services, Inc., while not affiliated with the OpenSSL project, has historical rights to use the OpenSSL trademark.