# BlurFollow trademark and brand policy The source and the brand have deliberately different permissions. ## Code license versus brand rights Except for the Brand Assets identified below and verbatim third-party legal texts such as `DCO`, the BlurFollow source code and project documentation are offered under the Apache License, Version 2.0 in [LICENSE](LICENSE). That license permits commercial use and redistribution, but section 6 does **not** grant rights to the licensor's trade names, trademarks, service marks, or product names except reasonable, customary use describing origin and reproducing `NOTICE`. The following are “BlurFollow Marks”: the word **BlurFollow**, the BlurFollow logo and application icon, and confusingly similar names, logos, icons, slogans, visual identifiers, or combinations used to identify software or services. The following files are “Brand Assets” and are **not** licensed under Apache-2.0; all rights held by their respective copyright owners in the artwork are reserved: - `Brand/BlurFollowIcon-Source.png`; and - PNG artwork under `BlurFollow/Resources/Assets.xcassets/AppIcon.appiconset/`. Generated `.icns` files and other renditions derived from that artwork remain Brand Assets even when they are created only in a build artifact. The creation method, prompt, and source hash currently recorded for this artwork are in [Brand/PROVENANCE.md](Brand/PROVENANCE.md). That record supports an audit but is not a license, assignment, originality opinion, or trademark clearance; the release gate below still applies. The asset catalog metadata (`Contents.json`) remains Apache-2.0. A fork can retain the build structure but must substitute its own artwork when it lacks separate permission to use the BlurFollow Marks. This policy concerns project permission only. It does not establish that a mark is registered, resolve third-party rights, or replace jurisdiction-specific trademark analysis. `BlurFollow` is the project's current working brand selection, not a statement that the name is available, registrable, or owned. On 2026-08-16, narrow exact-string checks of general web results, GitHub repository names, Apple's Mac app search in the US and Japan, and `.com`/`.app` RDAP records did not identify an exact collision. Those snapshots are incomplete, can change, and do not cover unregistered rights, company names, phonetic/visual similarity, goods and services, or territorial consumer confusion. They are not a professional clearance search. Do not invest in launch inventory or accept payment until the gate below is completed by the accountable publisher. ## Uses allowed without separate permission Subject to truthfulness and no implication of endorsement, you may: - accurately state that software is based on, compatible with, or a fork of BlurFollow; - link to the canonical project and reproduce `NOTICE` as the license requires; - refer to BlurFollow in news, reviews, research, issue reports, package metadata, and technical comparison; and - show an unmodified screenshot when reasonably necessary to discuss the genuine application, provided sensitive user content is removed. Use plain text and make your own product name more prominent. Statements such as “based on the BlurFollow open-source project” are preferable to using BlurFollow as part of a downstream product name. ## Uses requiring written permission Without separate written permission from the trademark owner or authorized steward, do not: - name or market a modified build, paid product, hosted service, domain, company, social account, or app listing “BlurFollow” or a confusing variation; - use the BlurFollow logo or icon as your app icon, package icon, storefront art, badge, merchandise, or source identifier for a modified build; - imply that a fork, support service, certification, training, or commercial offer is official, endorsed, sponsored, or produced by BlurFollow; or - remove qualifiers in a way that makes users mistake a downstream build for an official signed release. These restrictions do not limit rights that applicable law grants regardless of this policy. ## Forks and commercial redistribution Apache-2.0 allows a compliant fork to be sold. A seller without brand permission should change at least the product name, bundle identifier, icon, signing identity, update/feed endpoints, support and privacy contacts, and all storefront/installer branding. It should say that it is an independent fork and must preserve applicable Apache license and notice material. Only artifacts published through channels controlled by the designated brand owner may be described as “official BlurFollow” releases. A code signature, notarization ticket, App Store receipt, or fork does not by itself grant use of the BlurFollow Marks. ## Governance and official-release gate Publishing the Apache-licensed source under this working project name does not claim trademark ownership or grant permission to present a fork as an official BlurFollow product. Before the first official branded binary distribution, trademark application, or paid release, the release owner must record: 1. the legal person or entity that owns or is authorized to steward the marks; 2. provenance and written assignments/licenses for every Brand Asset, reconciled with [Brand/PROVENANCE.md](Brand/PROVENANCE.md); 3. a professional exact, phonetic, and confusing-similarity clearance search for the product name, icon, domain, and relevant software, screen-sharing, and online-service classes in every target territory; 4. the public contact and process for permission and infringement reports; and 5. consistency among this policy, the repository description, binary license, website, App Store metadata, seller identity, and contracts. Until that record exists, no contributor or distributor should represent that they own the collective brand or accept payment for an “official BlurFollow” product. If clearance identifies a conflict, rename before building goodwill. Trademark ownership, nominative use, registration, and consumer-confusion rules vary. This policy is not legal advice; obtain qualified counsel before commercial sale, enforcement, registration, or reliance on an exception. Official search starting points include [J-PlatPat](https://www.j-platpat.inpit.go.jp/), [USPTO Trademark Search](https://tmsearch.uspto.gov/), [EUIPO eSearch plus](https://euipo.europa.eu/eSearch/), and the [WIPO Global Brand Database](https://branddb.wipo.int/). A professional search must go beyond a literal query in any one database.