Trademark Guidelines

Version 1.0 dated February 14, 2025

This trademark policy was prepared to help you understand how to use the OpenZeppelin trademarks, service marks and logos with OpenZeppelin’s products and services, including without limitation OpenZeppelin’s open source software.

While some of our software is available under a free and open source software license, that copyright license does not include a license to use our trademarks, and this Policy is intended to explain how to use our marks consistent with background law and community expectation.

This Policy covers:

1. Our word trademarks and service marks: OpenZeppelin®
2. Our logos: The OpenZeppelin logo at the top of this policy 

This policy encompasses all trademarks and service marks, whether they are registered or not.

1. General Guidelines

Whenever you use one of our marks, you must always do so in a way that does not mislead anyone about what they are getting and from whom. For example, you cannot say you are distributing OpenZeppelin software when you’re distributing a modified version of it, because recipients may not understand the differences between your modified versions and our own.

You also cannot use our logo on your website in a way that suggests that your website is an official website or that we endorse your website.

You can, though, say you like OpenZeppelin offerings, that you participate in the OpenZeppelin community, or that you are providing an unmodified version of the OpenZeppelin software.

You may not use or register our marks, or variations of them as part of your own trademark, service mark, domain name, company name, trade name, product name or service name.

Trademark law does not allow your use of names or trademarks that are too similar to ours. You therefore may not use an obvious variation of any of our marks or any phonetic equivalent, foreign language equivalent, takeoff, or abbreviation for a similar or compatible product or service. For example, we would consider the following too similar to one of our Marks:

  • MyOpenZeppelin
  • OZ Contracts
  • Zeppelin
  • Zeppelin Contracts
  • Open Contracts

2. Acceptable Uses

Unmodified Code

When you redistribute an unmodified copy of our software — the exact form in which we make it available — you must retain the marks we have placed on the software to identify your redistribution. 

Modified Code

If you distribute a modified version of our software, you must remove all of our logos from it. You may use our word marks, but not our logos, to truthfully describe the origin of the software that you are providing. For example, if the code you are distributing is a modification of our software, you may say, “This software is derived from the source code for OpenZeppelin open-source software.” 

Statements about Compatibility

You may use the word marks, but not the logos, to truthfully and accurately describe the relationship between your software and ours. Any other use may imply that we have certified or approved your software. If you wish to use our logos, please contact us to discuss license terms at legal@openzeppelin.com.

Naming Compatible Products

If you wish to include a reference to OpenZeppelin in your product name, here are the conditions under which you may do so. You may call your software "XYZ (where XYZ is your product name) add-on for OpenZeppelin" or “XYX powered by OpenZeppelin" only if:

  • All versions of the OpenZeppelin software you deliver with your product are the exact binaries provided by us
  • Your product is fully compatible with the relevant APIs for the OpenZeppelin software described at docs.openzeppelin.com
  • You use the following legend in marketing materials or product descriptions: “OpenZeppelin is a trademark of Zeppelin Group Ltd.”
User Groups

You can use the Word Marks as part of your user group name provided that:

  • The main focus of the group is our software
  • The group does not make a profit
  • Any charge to attend meetings are to cover the cost of the venue, food and drink only

For clarity, you are not authorized to conduct a conference using our marks.

No Domain Names

You must not register any domain that includes our word marks or any variant or combination of them.

3. How to Display our Marks

When you have the right to use our mark, you must do so in accordance with our Brand Kit. Here is some additional guidance: 

Trademark Marking and Legends

The first or most prominent mention of a mark on a webpage, document, or documentation should be accompanied by a symbol indicating whether the mark is a registered trademark (“®”) or an unregistered trademark (“™”). If you don’t know which applies, contact us.

Place the following notice at the foot of the page where you have used the mark: “OpenZeppelin is trademark of Zeppelin Group Ltd.”

Use of Trademarks in Text

Always use trademarks in their exact form with the correct spelling, neither abbreviated, hyphenated, or combined with any other word or words.

Unacceptable: OpenZeppelin-DB

Don’t pluralize a trademark.

Unacceptable: I have seventeen OpenZeppelins running in my lab.

Always use a trademark as an adjective modifying a noun.

Unacceptable: This is an OpenZeppelin.
Acceptable: This is an OpenZeppelin software application.

Use of Logos

Unless otherwise set forth in the Brand Kit, you may not change any logo except to scale it. This means you may not add decorative elements, change the colors, change the proportions, distort it, add elements, or combine it with other logos.

These guidelines are based on the Model Trademark Guidelines, available at http://www.modeltrademarkguidelines.org., used under a Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 Unported license: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/deed.en_US.