Archive:Trademark Policy FAQ

XBMC Foundation

Trademarks

Trademark Policy FAQ

What's the purpose of this document?

This document sets out to answer, beyond what's in the trademark policy, common questions which arise about the use of the XBMC Foundation Trademarks and Logos. Our code is free, but we do strictly enforce our trademark rights, we must, in order to keep them valid. This means that, while you have considerable freedom to redistribute and modify our software, there are tight restrictions on your ability to use the XBMC Foundation name and logos, even when built into binaries that we provide. To ensure that there is never confusion about our products and services, or our relationship with developers, partners and other members of the XBMC Foundation products and it's community. Using the marks in the ways as described in our policy will allow you to avoid negotiating agreements with XBMC Foundation and its lawyers, or receiving a request to change an inappropriate use. You must receive explicit written permission from the XBMC Foundation to use our marks in any way not described in the Guidelines and your use is subject to your agreement to be legally bound by these Guidelines, including the terms of our trademark license provided below. If you have any question regarding a proposed usage of our marks or to request permission for a certain use, please contact us here.

What are the XBMC Foundation Trademarks and Logos?

We have a list.

Can I distribute any of the XBMC Foundation software from my website, by CD, or to my friends, employees or students?

If you are redistributing unchanged official stable binaries downloaded from kodi.tv, to anyone in any way and for any purpose, no further permissions are required from us. We request that you distribute the latest stable version (and of course, we believe that it's in your best interest to do so as well).

Just remember to follow all requirements of the applicable open source license when distributing binaries and/or code.

If you want to distribute one of our products and this answer does not apply to you, please say so explicitly in your trademark use request, because otherwise you'll just get pointed at this FAQ entry :-)

Can I download one copy and install it on lots of machines in my company/school/university/pizzeria?

Sure. Our products are Free software, both as in speech and as in beer, and there are no fees or notification requirements. If you plan to reconfigure it and then sell the machines, we do have a policy about that.

Can I put Kodi banners on my website? Can I link to you?

Thanks for your support :-) Of course you may. Just be sure to follow the Visual Identity Guidelines.

Can I make a t-shirt/desktop wallpaper/baseball cap with the logo on?

Sure, if it's just for you, or if it's for others and no money or other consideration changes hands.

Can I modify your logos and distribute the result?

Please don't. The logos are trademarked, and so if the result is confusingly similar to the original, or used in a confusing manner, it's a violation of trademark law.

Doesn't having trademark restrictions contravene the principles of free software?

No. Many free software licenses explicitly exclude rights to trademarks, and so trademark restrictions on otherwise free software is accepted by the community. We are using our trademarks as a mark of quality to protect customers - we think this is very much within the principles of free software.

If your question isn't covered here, time to move on to one of the other Trademark Policy documents.