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March 10, 2009
OpenSUSE has finally unleashed its new trademark guidelines. Open SUSE is placing these guidelines
since it wants to encourage and simplify the use of openSUSE as a base for other Linux projects.
OpenSUSE expects that these guidelines will be revised at some point in the future, so feedback is welcome.
OpenSUSE is quick to point out that guidelines are just that: guidelines...
If Linux developers wish to create their own openSUSE distribution or use an openSUSE logo for something,
the guidelines exist to make it simple to do that without having to get a separate agreement from openSUSE's
legal department to make it possible.
The guidelines also explain when the use of the marks are not permitted.
Developers and Linux system integrators can still ask for permission to use the openSUSE marks even if they
don’t fit within the permitted use case.
OpenSUSE says it simply can’t grant a broad 'blanket permission' for all modified versions that include
non-project modifications.
OpenSUSE consulted with a number of other projects’ guidelines before drafting them.
Unfortunately, there’s not a GPL of trademark guidelines — that is to say, while there are plenty of well-respected free and open
source licenses for code, there isn’t a so-called standard trademark policy that FOSS projects could simply
re-use.
Some project managers spend quite a few hours drafting policies and having them reviewed, but such is the
case of FOSS.
OS News did draw from the guidelines of other Linux projects, and have likewise made it possible to reuse
OpenSUSE, licensed under version 3.0 of the Creative Commons Attribution Share-Alike license.
If you have questions about using the openSUSE marks, please contact permission@novell.com.
Source: OpenSUSE.
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