# Pieria Trademark Policy

**Short version:** the code is yours under the AGPL. The *name* and the *logo* are not. Fork freely —
just call your fork something else.

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## Why this file exists

Pieria's source is licensed under the [GNU Affero General Public License v3.0](LICENSE). That license
covers **copyright** in the code. It says nothing about **trademarks**, and it grants no rights to the
Pieria name or the Pieria logo.

That separation is deliberate, and it's the same arrangement Linux, Rust, Python, and most established
open-source projects use. It exists to protect *users*, not to restrict developers: when someone
downloads something called Pieria, they should be able to trust it came from this project and behaves
the way the documentation says. A fork that ships bugs, telemetry, or a subscription under the same
name would make that impossible.

Nothing here restricts what you may do with the **code**. Your AGPL rights are untouched.

## What you can do without asking

- **Say what your thing works with.** "Compatible with Pieria," "a Pieria plugin," "runs on Pieria,"
  "an alternative to Pieria." Describing a true relationship is fair use and always fine.
- **Write about it.** Blog posts, videos, talks, reviews, tutorials, courses — favourable or not.
  Use the name and the logo to refer to the project.
- **Redistribute unmodified builds** under the name Pieria — packages, mirrors, container images,
  or a card you flashed for a friend.
- **Run it commercially.** Install it for clients, sell hardware with it preloaded, offer it as a
  hosted service, charge for support. Say truthfully that the product runs Pieria. (Your AGPL
  obligations still apply — most notably §13 if you offer it over a network.)
- **Use the name in a community project's name** where it reads as descriptive rather than official:
  `pieria-homeassistant`, `awesome-pieria`, `pieria-tools`.

## What needs permission

- **Naming a modified version "Pieria."** If you change the code and distribute it, give it your own
  name. You may still say "based on Pieria" or "a fork of Pieria."
- **Implying endorsement.** "Official," "certified," "authorized," or "powered by Pieria" as a
  product badge, when there's no agreement in place.
- **Selling hardware or a product branded as Pieria** — a frame, an appliance, a device with the
  logo silkscreened on it. Say "runs Pieria" instead, or ask.
- **Using the logo as your own** product mark, app icon, or company mark, or modifying it into
  something that could be confused for it.
- **Domain names, social accounts, or app-store listings** that could be mistaken for the project's
  own.

If your case isn't obviously in one list or the other, just ask — the answer is usually yes, and it's
usually quick.

## Forking

Forking is welcome and the license guarantees it. Two requests, both about avoiding confusion rather
than discouraging you:

1. **Pick a different name** for anything you distribute with modifications.
2. **Replace the logo** in your fork, or drop it. `static/logo.svg` and `static/apple-touch-icon.png`
   are the brand marks.

Say plainly that your project derives from Pieria — that's accurate, useful to your users, and
appreciated.

## The logo

The Pieria logo — a display frame with the spring rising inside it — is not covered by the AGPL.
You may use it unmodified to *refer* to this project. Don't restyle it, don't fold it into another
mark, and don't use it as the identity of anything that isn't this project.

## Contact

Questions, edge cases, and permission requests: open an issue on
[the repository](https://github.com/pieria-art/Pieria/issues), or reach the maintainer through
the contact listed there.

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*This policy may be updated as the project grows. It will never be changed in a way that retroactively
restricts your rights to the **code** — those are granted by the AGPL and are irrevocable.*