A. Certain Personal, Non-Commercial Uses

You may use the Stellar Marks to express your affinity for our products in a truthful, personal, and non-commercial manner – for example on t-shirts, stickers, and other things that you share with your friends.

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Whenever you make use of a Stellar Mark this way, please feel free to send us a sample – we’d love to see what you’re doing! If you want to make a commercial use of these kinds of items though (for example, selling stickers or apparel bearing our Stellar Marks), you must obtain our written permission first.

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B. Trade Names, Trademarks, Domain Names, and Internet Account Names

You may not use the Stellar Marks in, or as a part of, any trade name, trademark, domain name, internet account name, or social media name without prior written consent from Stellar Development Foundation.

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For example, the business name or trademark “Stellar Tech Support,” or the Twitter handle “@StellarTechSupport,” are not permitted, because consumers who see those uses are likely to assume that they are official Stellar services or accounts.

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By the same token, the domain name “StellarTechSupport.com,” or the Facebook group “Stellar Tech Support,” would also be likely to cause confusion. If you’d like to use the Stellar Marks in, or as a part of, any trade name, trademark, domain name, or internet account name, please contact us to discuss your planned use.

C. Derivative Software

All of Stellar Development Foundation’s software offerings are provided on a free and open source basis, meaning that you can alter and modify our source code to better suit your needs. All of the Stellar source code is governed by the Apache 2.0 license.

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However, note that software trademarks and brands are designed to designate the provider of the software. In that respect, software that you have modified and that you provide is different from the software that is provided by the Stellar Development Foundation. Therefore, you may not brand derivative software in a manner that might cause confusion as to its source or origin. For example, if you fork our Stellar software, you may not distribute the modified software under the Stellar brand, or under any Stellar Mark.

D. Services Related to Stellar Software and Services

If you offer goods or services that are related to Stellar goods or services – for example, if you offer support services for users of the Stellar network – you may use Stellar’s word marks (but not logos or design marks, unless otherwise authorized in writing) to truthfully describe your offering in your descriptions. However, this is conditional on that you do not purposefully, accidentally, negligently, or inadvertently mislead or confuse customers into thinking that your offering is:

An official Stellar Development Foundation offering, Sponsored/endorsed by Stellar Development Foundation, or Otherwise affiliated with Stellar Development Foundation.

For example, you may truthfully market your product as, “Using the Stellar network to connect customers,” or “Independent support services for Stellar network implementation.” By contrast, an unauthorized description of the same product would be, “Stellar customer connector,” or “Stellar network implementation services,” because those formations are likely to cause confusion as to who precisely is providing the services.

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Here are some helpful tips on lowering the risk of confusion:

Place your brand (or a description of your offering) before a Stellar Mark or in a more prominent manner. Use the terms “unofficial” or “independent” in your brand or description to inform consumers that your offerings are different from those of the Stellar Development Foundation. When in doubt, err on the side of providing more, rather than less, explanation and information to users and prospective users, because additional information can help ensure that your offering does not confuse consumers. If you offer software or services that are related to Stellar software or services, you must provide a prominent statement that your software or service is not affiliated with, or sponsored or endorsed by, the Stellar Development Foundation.

E. Permission for Other Uses

If you’d like to use the Stellar Marks in a way that’s not covered by this Policy, or if you have any questions regarding this Policy, feel free to contact us at [email protected].