Trademark
Yocto Project is a trademark of The Linux Foundation.
Trademark Usage
Yocto Project and the Yocto Project logo may be used in accordance with the Linux Foundation Trademark Policy. Yocto Project Compatible and Yocto Project Participant are extensions to the brand which may be used in association with a company or individual who has registered their company or individual name and received acceptance of that registration. The Yocto Project Compliance Program enables those involved in the project to be designated Yocto Project Participants, giving them guidelines and permission to use the Yocto Project branding. In addition, projects or products can be registered Yocto Project Compatible, which denotes technical interoperability, in accordance with the Linux Foundation Trademark Policy.
Compliance as defined by the Yocto Project governs the rights for the usage of the project name, logo, badges and marks in association with products, marketing materials, and announcements. The Yocto Project Brand Guidelines describe how members who follow these compliance guidelines are allowed to use these rights.
Trademark FAQ
The objective of the Yocto Project Trademark Policy is to avoid user confusion and to preserve the value of the Yocto Project marks to clearly and consistently communicate about 1) organizations and individuals who are committed to promoting the goals of the Yocto Project, and 2) what is and what is not Yocto Project Compatible in the marketplace. We believe that preservation of the marks is important for the benefit of the entire Yocto Project community.
Although the Yocto Project has no intention of restricting your rights to use, modify or distribute code licensed under open source licenses, your right to use the Yocto Project trademark, badges and logos in association with products, marketing materials, and announcements must be conditioned upon fulfillment of all requirements of the Yocto Project Compliance program which defines Yocto Project Participants, and what is Yocto Project Compatible.
Any use of {Y,y}-o-{C,c}-{T,t}-o Project or any subset of those letters or sounds in that order, alone or in combination with other letters, words or marks that would tend to cause someone to make a reasonable connection with the Yocto Project has to be in reference to code that is in conformance with the Yocto Project Compliance Program. This includes project packages, mailing list, project team names, etc. For example, when you append Yocto Project to a package name, it would be very reasonable to conclude that the package is an official Yocto Project package coming from yoctoproject.org. If the code is not compliant, this will cause confusion for your users as well as for Yocto Project users.
Controlling the use of the Yocto Project marks to avoid confusion on the part of Yocto Project users and the general public is necessary in order to protect the trademarks from inappropriate or unauthorized use. We need your help to preserve the value of the Yocto Project marks to clearly and consistently communicate Yocto Project’s value in the marketplace. We believe that preservation of the marks is important for the benefit of the entire Yocto Project community.
Guidelines for Websites
The Yocto Project website guidelines are in place to clearly differentiate the official Yocto Project sites. We encourage community and fan sites. However, if you are going to create a website about Yocto Project and plan to use the words “Yocto Project” in the site name or URL, or plan to use the Yocto Project logo, you must adhere to these simple guidelines.
- Do not represent your site as an “official” Yocto Project website.
- You must have the following disclaimer on every page (in the footer is fine): “Yocto Project and all related marks and logos are trademarks of The Linux Foundation. This website is not, in any way, endorsed by the Yocto Project or The Linux Foundation.”
- You must not modify the Yocto Project logos. They have a very specific meaning and purpose.
- You must follow the Yocto Project Brand Guidelines (7MB PDF) if using the Yocto Project logo.
- Before registering a domain name that includes the text “Yocto Project”, you must request permission by emailing Trademarks@Yoctoproject.Org per the Linux Foundation Trademark Guidelines.
Ensuring Proper Use of the Yocto Project Trademark
Because the Yocto Project trademark and Yocto Project Compatible badge and Yocto Project Participant badge are closely tied to the compliance program, it is very important that they be used correctly and appropriately. Unfortunately cases do arise where the Yocto Project marks are used incorrectly or out of context. The process for evaluating and attempting to correct usage is transparent and will ultimately be managed by the Advisory Board of the Yocto Project.
If you believe a use of the Yocto Project trademark or Yocto Project Compatible badge or the Yocto Project Participant badge to be questionable or causing confusion, please contact trademarks@yoctoproject.org. The Yocto Project Advisory Board will evaluate the use and, if necessary, will attempt to reach the owner of the questionable content with specific corrections and a deadline to become compliant. If there is no positive reply, the Advisory Board will initiate legal counsel follow up.
The intent of this process is to ensure that a content owner who is acting in good faith but is genuinely unaware of the guidelines can be properly informed and have an opportunity to make corrections, prior to any legal intervention.
Other Trademark Questions
For all other questions or requests on the use of the Yocto Project trademark, please contact the Yocto Project at trademarks@yoctoproject.org.
Brand Guidelines
The Yocto Project Branding Program strengthens the project’s strategic initiatives by providing guidelines for the use of its branding. This program provides a minimum level of standardization in order to enable both individual contributors and corporate members to deliver implementations which support the project’s goals and contribute to its ecosystem. In addition, this program is intended to provide concrete benefits by associating a common set of definitions with the use of the Yocto Project branding. Some of the goals of the Yocto Project that the program is intended to strengthen include:
- Reduce fragmentation in the embedded market by encouraging collaborative development of a common set of tools, standards, and practices.
- Ensure that these tools, standards, and practices are architecturally independent as much as possible.
Compliance as defined by the Yocto Project governs the rights for the usage of the project name, logo, and marks in association with products, marketing materials, and announcements. The Yocto Project brand guidelines (see attachment below) describe how members that follow these compliance guidelines are allowed to use these rights. As with Linux, compliance affects the commercial use of resulting products or projects created by the Yocto Project. Personal use cases are not covered.Note: The Yocto Project adheres to the guidelines set up by the Linux Foundation. Your right to use this mark is conditioned to conforming to the Trademark Guidelines.
Levels, Recommendations, and Terminology
The Yocto Project Branding Program defines steps to register for both individual and corporate members. In general, those who wish to participate in the program should complete the form appropriate to the status for which they are applying, either Yocto Project Participant or Yocto Project Compatible as described below:
- Yocto Project Participant is appropriate for organizations who use and support the Yocto Project publicly. Participant status is open to open source projects, non-profits, and small companies up to 80 employees, as well as any organization currently serving as a Yocto Project member organization.
- Yocto Project Compatible is appropriate for products, BSPs and other OE-compatible layers, and related open-source projects. These components must be maintained and submitted by an open source project, non-profit, or Yocto Project member organization.
The main difference between these two designations encompasses what is being registered – organizations are Participants, while products and software components are Compatible. For example, a company may register itself as a Participant and then register appropriate products as Compatible.
Yocto Project Brand Documentation
The Yocto Project logo and branding assets may only be used by express permission of the Advisory Board.
Yocto Project Branding Program Registration
NOTE: When submitting applications, please indicate in the comments section how you are using the Yocto Project and how you are visibly participating in the project.
To register as a Yocto Project Participant, please visit the Yocto Project Participant Registration page.
To register as Yocto Project Compatible, please visit the Yocto Project Compatible Registration page.
Thanks for your interest!
