# Trademark Guidelines

Version 1.0 dated January 1, 2025

<img src="https://puter.com/images/logo.png" alt="Puter Technologies Inc. Logo" width="150"/>

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This trademark policy was prepared to help you understand how to use the Puter trademarks, service marks and logos with Puter Technologies Inc.'s Puter software.

While some of our software is available under a free and open source software license, that copyright license does not include a license to use our trademark, and this Policy is intended to explain how to use our marks consistent with background law and community expectation.

This Policy covers:

1. Our **word** trademarks and service marks: Puter Technologies Inc., Puter, Puter.com
2. Our **logos**: The Puter Technologies Inc. logo at the top of this policy

This policy encompasses all trademarks and service marks, whether they are registered or not.

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## 1. GENERAL GUIDELINES

Whenever you use one of our marks, you must always do so in a way that does not mislead anyone about what they are getting and from whom. For example, you cannot say you are providing the Puter software when you're providing a modified version of it, because recipients may not understand the differences between your modified versions and our own.

You also cannot use our logo on your website in a way that suggests that your website is an official website or that we endorse your website.

You can, though, say you like the Puter software, that you participate in the Puter community, that you are providing an unmodified version of the Puter software.

You may not use or register our marks, or variations of them as part of your own trademark, service mark, domain name, company name, trade name, product name or service name.

Trademark law does not allow your use of names or trademarks that are too similar to ours. You therefore may not use an obvious variation of any of our marks or any phonetic equivalent, foreign language equivalent, takeoff, or abbreviation for a similar or compatible product or service. We would consider the following too similar to one of our Marks:

- MyPuter
- PuterFooBar

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## 2. ACCEPTABLE USES

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### Distribution of Unmodified Software

When you redistribute an unmodified copy of Puter software, you must retain all trademarks, logos, and notices we have placed on the software to identify its origin. This includes:

* Binary distributions exactly as we provide them
* Source code distributions exactly as we provide them
* Documentation and other materials directly from our official repositories

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### Distribution of Modified Software

If you distribute a modified version of Puter software, you:

* Must remove all Puter logos from the modified software
* May use our word marks (but not logos) to accurately describe the software's origin
* Must clearly indicate that the software has been modified
* Must include a notice stating: "This software is a modified version of Puter software and is not endorsed by Puter Technologies Inc."

Example of acceptable description: "This software is derived from Puter software and includes modifications for [describe your changes]."

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### Compatibility Statements

You may use our word marks (but not logos) to accurately describe your software's compatibility with Puter software under these conditions:

* Your statements about compatibility must be accurate and not misleading
* You must include the following notice: "Puter is a trademark of Puter Technologies Inc. This [product/service] is not affiliated with or endorsed by Puter Technologies Inc."
* You may not suggest that Puter Technologies Inc. has certified or approved your software


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### Products Built for Puter

You may describe your product as working with or being built for Puter if:

* Your product is fully compatible with the documented Puter APIs
* Your product name follows this format: "[Your Product Name] for Puter"
* You include this notice in all materials: "Puter is a trademark of Puter Technologies Inc. [Your Product Name] is not affiliated with or endorsed by Puter Technologies Inc."
* Your branding and marketing materials do not create confusion about the source of your product

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### Open Source Projects

For open source projects that interact with or extend Puter software:

* You may use "puter" as part of your project name only if:
  * The name is in the format "[descriptor]-puter" (e.g., "auth-puter", "backup-puter")
  * The project's README clearly states it's not officially associated with Puter
  * The project maintains compatibility with current Puter APIs
* You must not use our logos without explicit permission
* You must include appropriate trademark attribution notices

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### Community Activities

You may use our word marks (but not logos) for non-commercial community activities:

* User groups and meetups focused on Puter software
* Educational content about Puter software
* Blog posts, videos, articles, or tutorials about Puter software

Conditions for community use:

* Activities must be non-commercial
* Any fees charged must only cover actual costs
* You must include appropriate trademark attribution
* You must not suggest official endorsement without explicit permission

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### Merchandise and Promotional Items

You may not create merchandise or promotional items bearing our marks without explicit written permission from Puter Technologies Inc.

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### Academic and Research Use

You may use our word marks (but not logos) in:

* Academic papers
* Research publications
* Technical documentation
* Educational materials

Include appropriate citations and trademark attributions in such uses.

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### Online Content and Social Media

When using our marks in online content:

* You may use our word marks in hashtags, handles, or usernames if:
  * The content is clearly about Puter software
  * You don't imply official status
  * You include appropriate trademark attribution
* You must not register social media accounts that could be confused with official Puter accounts

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### APIs and Development

When developing with Puter APIs:

* You may use our word marks to accurately describe your integration
* You must not use our marks in a way that suggests your API or service is endorse by
Puter or provided by Puter
* You must include appropriate trademark attribution

All uses described above must also comply with the General Guidelines section of this policy and maintain the integrity of our marks as described in the How to Display Our Marks section.

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### No Domain Names

You must not register any domain that includes our word marks or any variant or combination of them.

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## 3. HOW TO DISPLAY OUR MARKS

When you have the right to use our mark, here is how to display it.

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### Trademark marking and legends

The first or most prominent mention of a mark on a webpage, document, or documentation should be accompanied by a symbol indicating whether the mark is a registered trademark ("®") or an unregistered trademark ("™"). If you don't know which applies, contact us.

Place the following notice at the foot of the page where you have used the mark: "Puter is trademark of Puter Technologies Inc."

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### Use of trademarks in text

**Always use trademarks in their exact form with the correct spelling, neither abbreviated, hyphenated, or combined with any other word or words.**

Unacceptable: Puter-DB

**Don't pluralize a trademark.**

Unacceptable: I have seventeen Puters running in my lab.

**Always use a trademark as an adjective modifying a noun.**

Unacceptable: This is a Puter.  
Acceptable: This is a Puter software application.

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### Use of Logos

You may not change any logo except to scale it. This means you may not add decorative elements, change the colors, change the proportions, distort it, add elements, or combine it with other logos.

However, when the context requires the use of black-and-white graphics and the logo is color, you may reproduce the logo in a manner that produces a black-and-white image.

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## This Document

These guidelines are based on the Model Trademark Guidelines, available at http://www.modeltrademarkguidelines.org., used under a Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 Unported license: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/deed.en_US.