# Nostos Trademark Policy

Copyright (C) 2026 Christian Gennari. All rights reserved.

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## 1. Overview

The source code of the **Nostos** project is distributed under the GNU Affero General Public License v3.0 (AGPLv3). 

While the software license grants broad freedoms to inspect, modify, and redistribute the underlying code, **it does not grant any right or license to use the trademarks, service marks, logos, trade dress, or brand identity** of Nostos.

This policy outlines how the Nostos name and brand assets may and may not be used by community members, packagers, and third parties.

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## 2. Our Marks

The following marks and assets are proprietary trademarks belonging to Christian Gennari:

- **Word Marks:**
  - `Nostos`
  - `Nostos Study`
  - `Nostos Cloud`
  - `Nostos Sync`
- **Design Marks & Brand Assets:**
  - The Nostos mark (Forest tile + Paper arch emblem).
  - All official icons, lockups, favicons, brand illustrations, and visual style assets contained in the Nostos brand kits.
  - The distinctive visual trade dress and typography styling of the "Nordic Editorial" design identity.

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## 3. Permitted Uses (No Explicit Permission Needed)

You may use the word mark "Nostos" without prior written permission strictly in the following truthful, non-confusing contexts:

- **Factual Attribution:** To truthfully state that your project, plugin, extension, or theme interfaces with or is compatible with Nostos (e.g., *"Export tool for Nostos"* or *"Plugin compatible with Nostos"*).
- **Linking and Referencing:** To link to the official Nostos repository, website, or documentation.
- **Academic and Non-Commercial Commentary:** To review, critique, analyze, or discuss Nostos in articles, scholarly papers, or talks.

In all such uses:
1. The mark must not appear in a way that suggests endorsement, partnership, certification, or sponsorship by Nostos or Christian Gennari.
2. The mark must not be the dominant or primary element of your product or service name.

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## 4. Restricted Uses (Requires Prior Written Permission)

You may **not** do any of the following without prior explicit written permission:

- **Forks and Derivative Distributions:** If you distribute a modified or forked version of Nostos, you **must rebrand the project**. You may not call your fork "Nostos", "Nostos Fork", "Nostos Extended", or any confusingly similar variant, nor may you use the official Nostos logo or favicon.
- **Hosted Services and SaaS:** You may not offer hosted instances, managed infrastructure, or software-as-a-service using "Nostos" in the service name (e.g., you may not market a service called *"Nostos Hosting"*, *"Nostos Cloud"*, or *"Hosted Nostos"*).
- **Merchandise & Physical Goods:** Using the mark or logo on physical products (apparel, notebooks, hardware).
- **Domains and Social Accounts:** Registering domain names, social media handles, or organization names containing "Nostos" in connection with software, reading, or digital publishing tools.

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## 5. Rebranding a Fork

If you build and distribute a fork of the Nostos codebase under the terms of the software license, you must:

1. Replace the name `Nostos` in the application title, metadata, and documentation with your own unique name.
2. Replace all instances of the Nostos logo, brand marks, and default favicon with your own original graphics.
3. Include an attribution notice stating that your software is a fork of Nostos, without implying official association:
   > *"This product is based on code from the open-source Nostos project, but is an independent fork and is not endorsed or affiliated with Nostos or Christian Gennari."*

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## 6. Questions & Inquiries

For trademark permission inquiries or commercial licensing questions, please contact:
- **Email:** `contact@cgennari.com` / `christian@cgennari.com`