This document explains how the Shumoku name and logo may be used. It is meant to be practical and friendly — we want people to talk about, build on, and offer services around Shumoku. The goal is only to prevent confusion about what is official and who endorses what.
These brand guidelines are separate from the software license. The AGPL-3.0 license covers your right to use, modify, and redistribute the code. It does not grant rights to use the Shumoku name and logo in ways that could imply official status, endorsement, or affiliation. This document covers that second part.
The Shumoku name and logo are managed by the Shumoku Project. If you are unsure whether a use is allowed, just ask: [email protected].
Uses that are always fine
You don’t need permission to:
- State that your product, service, or documentation uses or is built with Shumoku.
- Describe something as “compatible with Shumoku”, a “Shumoku integration”, or “Shumoku-compatible”, as long as it is accurate.
- Say that you provide implementation help, support, or consulting for Shumoku (as long as you don’t imply this is official or exclusive — see below).
- Use the name in truthful, descriptive references — blog posts, talks, tutorials, comparisons, and academic work.
- Link to the project and use the logo in unmodified form to refer to the project (e.g. a small “powered by Shumoku” mark), without implying endorsement.
Uses that need prior permission
Please contact us first if you want to:
- Describe yourself or your organization as an “official Shumoku partner”, “certified”, or “authorized” anything.
- Use the Shumoku logo prominently in sales materials, marketing, or on a website in a way that suggests an official relationship.
- Create a commercial product or service name that contains “Shumoku” (for example, a hosted service or paid edition branded with the name).
- Use names that could be mistaken for an official product, such as “Shumoku Enterprise”, “Shumoku Pro”, or “Shumoku Cloud”.
We are generally happy to discuss these uses — the point is just to coordinate so that the official project and third-party offerings stay clearly distinguishable.
Uses that are not allowed
Please do not:
- Imply that your product or service is official, certified, endorsed, or guaranteed by the Shumoku Project when it is not.
- Present yourself as an exclusive distributor, sole agent, or sole reseller of Shumoku. No such exclusive arrangement exists.
- Suggest that the Shumoku Project endorses or guarantees a specific third-party service, product, or company.
- Present a fork or modified version in a way that could be mistaken for the official Shumoku project or its releases.
- Use the name or logo in a misleading, defamatory, or unlawful way.
A note on partners and commercial services
Third parties — including companies — may offer commercial support, integration, or implementation services around Shumoku. That is welcome and encouraged. To keep things clear:
A partner company may provide commercial support or implementation services for Shumoku, but such services are separate from the Shumoku open-source project unless explicitly stated otherwise.
In other words, offering services for Shumoku is fine; presenting those services as the official Shumoku project, or as an exclusive/official arrangement, requires prior permission (see above).
Questions
This is a young project and these guidelines are intentionally lightweight. If something here is unclear or you have a use case that isn’t covered, reach out at [email protected] and we’ll work it out.