17 / 04 / 2023

There was an announcement in the Rust Foundation website about the form being closed. Feedback is being reviewed and talked about.

• The team apologized about the lack of transparency in the whole process ✔️
  • The document says that they will provide more progress updates
• They will address feedback ✔️
  • It seems like there will be more cohesion between the Trademark Team and the Legal team (From the public's perspective).

Note: They will not put anything in effect before a new draft is accepted. ✔️

Original README:

This repository's only purpose is to give resources to learn about the new Trademark policy change and warn about its effects in the Rust community.

Before reading this, remember that Rust is a normal English word.

In short, the Rust foundation published a draft on April 7th 2023 about their new policy in order to control the usage Rust-related goods and IPs.

This means that:

• If you show support of Rust using their logo, you must abide by all requirements in their policy.
• You cannot register a domain name with the word "Rust".
• You cannot sell any products / good for gain / profit, if that product uses Rust's logo or name (Rust is a plain old English word).
• You cannot suggest any commercial Rust affiliation.
• You can make use of the Rust name in educative resources, only if you make sure to disclose that your project hasn't being reviewed / approved / endorsed by the Rust Project or Foundation.
  • This disclosure needs to be in the first paragraph or after in a clear and dedicated space. It should be as following:
    • Disclosure: The material in this {book/paper/blog/article} has not been reviewed, endorsed, or approved of by the Rust Foundation. For more information on the Rust Foundation Trademark Policy, click here.
• You cannot use "Rust" as part of the name of your crate.
• You cannot use Rust trademarks in corporate social media bios / profile pictures.
• You cannot change in any way except scaling the Rust logo. No changing the colors, distortion or transparency to anything affiliated with for-profit brands or political ideologies.
  • If you'd like to use a version with the colors changed, you can email them (contact@rustfoundation.org) and request it.
• If you'd like to run a for-profit event and use Rust name / logo, you must get approval.
  • If the event is non-profit (even free to attend!), you can use them as long as you make clear that you aren't endorsed by the Rust Foundation.
• You need approval to sell stickers / merch that includes a Rust Trademark, even when donating part of the proceeds.
  • Also, you need to disclose where do donations go.

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Before continuing, keep in mind that they don't have yet a system for official approval. Meaning that everything that needs approval is paused until they implement one.

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• You cannot use "Rust" as part of the name for your project / product / initiative, etc... when talking about the Rust language.
  • This means that you cannot make use of the "Rust" name or logo as part of your trademark, service mark, domain name, company name, trade name, product name or service name.
• "Rust" is trademarked under "Programming language, software, compiler, library and community". "Cargo" is trademarked under "Build system, package manager" and "Clippy" is trademarked under "Linting tool".
  • The logo is also trademarked under "Programming language, software, compiler and community".
• You cannot use "the unique visual style of their website" (They trademarked a very basic website design).
• Disclosure is mandatory. They consider that not disclosing that you're not affiliated with the Rust Foundation / Project is misleading by omission.
• You cannot use the Rust logo in your website unless you make very clear that it is not an official / endorsed website.
• You cannot use names that are similar to Rust's trademarks. E.g. "Rost", "Rusty" or "Cargo Net"
• Direct quote:

  "You agree that you will not acquire any rights in the Marks and that any goodwill generated by your use of the Marks inures solely to our benefit."

• You cannot modify Rust's source code, you must remove their logo and disclose it.
  • If you create documentation for your modified version of Rust, you must disclose that the Rust Foundation hasn't published or endorsed your version of the documentation, such as on the cover.
• You cannot use Rust's logo to describe the relationship between your software and Rust's. Their Marks (Rust's words, such as "Rust" and "Cargo") should be used after a verb or preposition that describes the relationship between their software and yours.
  • For example, "the Dungeness tool for the Rust compiler" is OK, but "the Dungeness Rust compiler" is not.
• You must clearly indicate which branch (the language, the project, the community...) you're referring to when you use "Rust". There cannot be any misunderstanding.
• You can modify the source code and include their Word Marks and logos only if:
  • Your modifications are meant for the only purpose of porting the code to a different platform, architecture or system.
  • Or fixing local paths.
  • Or Adding patches that have been made available upstream and accepted, or submitted upstream and not yet rejected. (If the patch gets rejected, you must remove it).
• You can have an "User Group" as long as it:
  • Formally adopts and enforces a robust Code of Conduct appropriate to your specific User Group.
  • The main focus is discussion of and education about Rust software (no memes in #general).
  • All and any software or services the group provides are without cost.
  • It doesn't make a profit.
  • Any charge to attend meetings is to covert the cost of the venue, food and drink only.

Note: Even in User Groups, all considerations in the rest of Policy must be applied.

• You can make promotional goods (non-software goods that use the Marks and are intended to advertise, promote or show membership to the Project. Like stickers, socks...) as long as they are given for free at giveaways at open source conferences and events provided that the goods are compatible with the values of the Project.
• Events and conferences are accepted at a case-by-case basis, and they must accept the event before it taking place.

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This leaves us with:

• We can use Ferris freely (yay!)
• We can use the characters "rs" to indicate that the software has any connection to Rust.
• You can use the Rust logo as part of your social media avatar.
• You can do giveaways with Rust trademarks. If you run a for-profit event, you must get approval to use the Rust word / logo.
• If you are a Rust Foundation Corporate Member, you can list your membership status on websites, blogs, social media profiles, etc.
  • In regards to this, the extent of the whole policy would still apply to everyone, including members.
• Available to use:
  • Crate: A unit of compiled code in the Rust language.
  • RS: Indication that the software or project has any connection to Rust.
  • Ferris: The mascot of the project.
  • Rustacean: Word used to express that one who participates in the Rust project.
• You can say that you use / like the Rust software, participate in the Rust community, or that you wrote a manual describing how to develop software using Rust.
• You can distribute an unmodified version of the source code / executable. You can even compile it yourself if you auto-generate unmodified documentation created by the Project using rustdoc.
• If you modify the source code, you can include your own trademarks or logos.
• You can use Rust's logo and Word Marks in social media handles, avatars and emojis to show your support for the Project. Only if this is non-commercial and the use is a comment or clearly decorative.
• You can use the logo and Word Marks (not the website design) on your webpage to show your support for the Project. Only if:
  • The website design isn't similar to theirs.
  • Your own branding is more prominent than any of theirs.
  • The logo hyperlinks to the Project website.
  • The site clearly states that it is not affiliated with or endorsed by the Rust Foundation or Rust Project.
• You can use their logo in publications, presentations and educational materials, as long as it doesn't suggest that the Rust Foundation has published, endorsed, or agrees with your work.

How to raise your voice

Feedback is being taken until April 16th 2023, go fill that form! Twitter, Youtube and other social media can be used in order to move more people.

• Video by ThePrimeagen: Rust Foundation IS DOING WHAT????
• Video by Theo - t3.gg: This Video Is NOT Endorsed By The Rust Foundation

You can also include the banner at the top of your projects. Sharing this repository in social media can also spread awareness.

How to use the banner.

The banner is simply an SVG image (CC0) that you can use without asking for permission.

You can put it in the top of your README.md files by copy-pasting the following:

[![SAY NO TO THE TRADEMARK POLICY ](https://gist.githubusercontent.com/blyxyas/8f17fbe1cafdeff65bbe6b332d4f4723/raw/715a24df3ad74b838c6b0ff8079d3f7f9172b0db/banner.svg)](https://github.com/blyxyas/no-rust-policy-change)