Brand Policy

Welcome to the Brand Policy (“Policy”) of the Stellar Development Foundation (the “SDF”, “we”, or “us”).

This Policy describes the conditions under which any licensee (“you”) may use SDF’s wordmarks, logos, and similar intellectual property (the “Brand Assets”). By using or reproducing a Brand Asset you are agreeing to abide by this Policy that forms a binding agreement between you and SDF. If you are using a Brand Asset on behalf of a legal entity such as your employer, you represent that you have the authority to bind such entity, and the terms “you” or “your” shall include such entity. This policy may be updated by SDF at its discretion from time to time.

The goal of this Policy is to promote the legitimate use of, and protect the integrity of, the Brand Assets. At the same time this Policy aims at preventing brand confusion in order to protect the community from scammers who might use the Brand Assets to steal, defraud or mislead. If you would like to use any of the Brand Assets in a manner that is not expressly permitted by this Policy, please contact us directly at [email protected].

The Brand Assets referred to in this Policy are any and all marks, symbols, and trademarks owned or used by the SDF, including but not limited to:

• our “Stellar” word trademark,
• our “Stellar” network circular logo (“Stellar Logo”),

among others.

Generally speaking, you may use the Brand Assets in the manner permitted in this Policy so long as your use does not mislead or cause confusion as to its source or origin by suggesting that your use is offered or authorized by SDF, and the use does not defame, derogate, demean, or otherwise harass SDF or its personnel.

You are prohibited from using the Brand Assets in the following manner:

• In any way that is false, misleading, deceptive, fraudulent or otherwise in connection with unlawful activities.
• Incorrectly implies affiliation, endorsement, sponsorship or approval by the SDF of your products or services.
• Damage or diminish the reputation and goodwill of Stellar technology, the SDF, and the Brand Assets.
• Any and all other illegal and non-permitted uses under the law.

A. Building on Stellar

If you offer goods or services built on Stellar or that interact with the Stellar network you may use the Stellar word trademark together with the Stellar Logo to truthfully describe your offering in a non-confusing manner.

You may use the term “Powered by Stellar” and/or “Built on Stellar” to indicate that you built your offering on Stellar.

In addition, in connection with your software offering bearing a Brand Asset, you must include the following disclaimer (or equivalent in your native language):

“This is independent software, not affiliated with, sponsored or endorsed by the Stellar Development Foundation.”

B. Personal, Non-Commercial Use on Goods

You may use the Brand Assets to express your affinity for Stellar in a truthful, non-confusing manner on physical goods for personal use (which includes free distribution to friends and family).

Examples include printing on t-shirts, stickers, and similar items that you make for your friends or sell online in a limited nature (no mass produced goods).

SDF reserves the right to revoke this limited license at any time.

C. Artistic Works; Non-Fungible Tokens (NFTs)

You may use the Brand Assets in artistic works offered for sale, provided those artistic works meet the following additional conditions:

1. Your artistic work does not solely consist of the Brand Asset. Your new work must include substantial original content.
2. The work is offered as a limited run, not for commercial mass production.
3. The work must be purely aesthetic and not otherwise violate this Policy.

In addition, in connection with the sale or offering of any Artistic Works and/or Non-Fungible Tokens (NFTs) bearing a Brand Asset, and you must include the following disclaimer (or equivalent in your native language):

“This is independent Artistic Work / NFT, not affiliated with, sponsored, or endorsed by the Stellar Development Foundation.”

‍A. Trade and Business Names, Trademarks, Domain Names, and Internet Account Names

You may not use the Brand Assets in, or as a part of, any product or project name, trade name, business name, trademark, domain name, internet account name, or social media name without prior written consent from SDF.

B. Forked Software

Stellar software is provided on a free and open-source basis, and all Stellar source code is governed by the Apache 2.0 license. You are encouraged to contribute updates or improvements directly to the official Stellar OSS repositories for review. If you fork Stellar software, however, you may not use the Brand Assets to brand your fork in a manner that misrepresents or causes confusion about its source, status, or affiliation with the official Stellar software.

The following notice text should appear somewhere nearby your first or most prominent use of the Brand Assets:

“Stellar” is a trademark of the Stellar Development Foundation. All rights reserved.”

and, where appropriate also:

“This is an independent project, not affiliated with, sponsored or endorsed by the Stellar Development Foundation.”

If this is not practical, you may include these notices on the credits page instead.

• You must use the graphic Stellar Logo in its unaltered form. You may not alter the color, font, proportions, or any other aspect of the logo.
• Ensure the Stellar Logo is set apart and clearly distinguished from your own featured content.
• Except in connection with the personal, non-commercial uses permitted by this Policy, you may not make the Stellar Logo the most prominent feature of your use.

Please request use not covered by this Policy, report any misuse, and/or send questions to [email protected].

Please note that, no matter the authorization, any goodwill generated by the use of the Brand Assets shall inure solely to the benefit of the SDF.

This Policy supplements and is in addition to the terms of any other permission SDF may have granted you regarding use of the Brand Assets.