Kilolock Trademark Policy

Version 1.0, effective 2026-05-12.

This document describes how the Kilolock name and any associated marks may and may not be used. It is policy, not legal advice; written permission overrides any restrictions described here.

The mark

Kilolock (and any future logo associated with the project) is a trademark of David Kubec, with intent to register with appropriate authorities and (at the appropriate time) to assign to a successor legal entity formed to operate the project. References to "we" and "the maintainers" below should be read as such.

The Apache 2.0 license under which the Kilolock source code is distributed grants permission to use, copy, modify, and redistribute the code. It does not grant permission to use the name "Kilolock" or any related marks beyond the limited uses described below.

Uses that are always permitted

You may use the name "Kilolock" without asking, provided you do so accurately and do not imply official endorsement or affiliation:

Nominative descriptive use. Saying that something "works with
Kilolock", is "compatible with Kilolock", or "extends Kilolock"
is fine. Example: "Our CI plugin works with Kilolock."
Talking about the project. Blog posts, talks, comparisons,
reviews, and educational material that name the project are
encouraged.
Forks for personal or research use. You may keep the name in
a fork that is not distributed or offered as a service. Example: a
private fork in your company's internal GitLab for experimentation.

Uses that require permission

You must obtain written permission from the maintainers before:

Using "Kilolock" in the name of a product or service you offer
to the public, paid or free. Example: "Acme Kilolock", "Kilolock
Cloud by Beta Co.", "Kilolock SaaS".
Using "Kilolock" in the name of a hosted service or commercial
distribution. Example: a managed Kilolock offering on a cloud
marketplace.
Using the Kilolock name or logo in marketing material in a way
that implies endorsement or partnership.
Registering an "kl"-containing domain (e.g.
kl-cloud.com, getkl.io) for commercial use.

The fact that a use is technically permitted by the code's Apache 2.0 license does not, by itself, grant permission for these trademark uses.

Uses that are not permitted

Even with permission, the following are not acceptable:

Using the name in a way that misrepresents official status (claiming
to be "the official Kilolock" when you are not).
Using the name with similar marks in a way designed to confuse users
about the source of a product or service.
Using the name to suggest endorsement of products, services,
political positions, or organizations that the maintainers have not
publicly endorsed.

Forks: practical guidance

If you fork Kilolock and intend to distribute the fork publicly or offer it as a service:

Pick a different name for your distribution or service. The
code is yours to redistribute under Apache 2.0; the name is not.
You may say your project is "based on Kilolock",
"a fork of Kilolock", or "derived from Kilolock" in
documentation and marketing — these are nominative descriptive
uses.
If your fork is meaningfully divergent (different features,
different goals), please consider opening an issue first to
discuss whether the divergence can be merged upstream instead.

Requesting permission

For any use that requires permission, email the maintainer (see [MAINTAINERS.md](./MAINTAINERS.md)) with:

A description of the intended use.
The audience and distribution channel (private internal use, open
source distribution, commercial offering, etc.).
Any commercial details (paid service, sponsored project, etc.).

Permission is granted at the maintainers' sole discretion, in writing, and may be revoked if the conditions of the grant change. Permission is not transferable.

Future changes

This policy may be updated by the maintainers. If the project is transferred to a legal entity (per ADR 0003), the trademark and this policy transfer with it. Already-granted permissions remain valid under their original terms.