The Apache® brand is shared amongst all 200+ Apache Software Foundation (ASF) project communities and is an important part of our mission of providing software for the public good. This identity usage guide provides examples for how to refer to Apache® software projects and products.
IMPORTANT: Following this guide is required if you are requesting permission to use Apache trademarks in domain names, events, or services.
Terminology: Projects are the organizational committees (PMC) at the ASF that manage and create software. Products are the software code and downloads provided to the public. In most cases, the Apache project name is the same as the software product name, and follows the format of "Apache Projectname".
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See Also: Trademark Resources Site Map.
The Apache brand and our feather logo stand for the Apache Way process by which we build software. Some of the elements of the Apache Way include having collaborative, consensus driven communities of volunteers who are performing the work providing the governance for the project. It also means having a vendor-neutral and independent governance, welcoming all productive contributions regardless of employer. Apache branded projects are hosted at the ASF, and must be governed independently.
As a non-profit public charity, the Board and Membership of the ASF serve as a truly independent governing body that oversees the operations of the many Apache project communities. Having this layer of oversight ensures that Apache projects act in the best interests of the entire user community, and can serve as innovation accelerators by providing a neutral collaboration space where various vendors can collaborate together.
To ensure that Apache volunteer communities get the credit they deserve for providing Apache software, and to preserve the independent governance image of the ASF and Apache projects, there are some specific ways that you should refer to Apache projects and products.
Apache projects are always named in the form of "Apache Hadoop". While we use the Hadoop® project here as an example, these guidelines apply for all Apache projects. Ensuring you consistently refer to "Apache Hadoop" ensures that all Apache projects share the tie to the non-profit that hosts them.
The first and most prominent mentions must use the full form: "Apache Hadoop®" of the name for any individual usage (webpage, handout, slides, etc.) Depending on the context and writing style, you should use the full form of the name sufficiently often to ensure that readers clearly understand the association of both the Hadoop project and the Hadoop software product to the ASF as the parent organization.
Later in each specific document you may use the bare form of the name, i.e. just Hadoop, as best suits your writing style.
More specifically:
For use by software vendors or software-related service providers, or when organizations or organization-branded pages are discussing Hadoop (or any other Apache brand) in relation to any non-Apache provided software products or services, extra care is required to maintain the independent and vendor-neutral reputation of the Apache brand.
The full form of the name must be used in at least these cases:
Titles or subtitles, including web page title or description metadata.
The first and most prominent header elements within any major document section.
The first and most prominent callout, sidebar, or other types of highlighted blocks of content displayed to the user.
The first and most prominent uses in running or body text within the document.
For graphics headers or diagrams, the full form of the name must be clear in the graphic itself where practical; if not, the full form of the name must be used in a prominent caption header, or accompanying explanation of the graphic.
For video content, in the title and first uses, as well as the last use or any use in credits, must be the full form of the name.
Proper trademark attributions must also be provided, either in page footers, or in a clearly marked Terms, Legal, Trademarks, or other commonly-named secondary page within a website.
For use by other kinds of users (i.e. organizations or individuals not primarily providing software products or services somehow related to the Apache software product being discussed):
For scholarly or academic work: Use the full form in titles, subtitles, the first and most prominent references in headers, callouts, or other highlighted sections, and the first and most prominent references in running or body text. Use of the bare form afterwards is permitted.
For regularly published media (books, magazines, journalists): ensure the full form is used titles or subtitles, the first and most prominent references in headers, callouts, or other highlighted sections, and the first and most prominent references in running or body text. Otherwise, follow your normal publisher's guidelines for referring to software product names.
For personal bloggers or individuals: We appreciate the use of the full form of the name in titles and the first and most prominent uses in running or body text.
Uses of Apache brands in domain names or event names and brands are covered in their own policies.
The most important points are to use the unmodified logo from the Apache project itself, and to ensure that logos are not used in conjunction with other corporate logos. Viewers of Apache project logos should always have a clear understanding that the logo refers to the actual Apache project (community) or software product (actual download), and not to some third party organization or product.
To enable the many organizations that build solutions atop Apache software to properly showcase their relationship, the ASF provides a line of "Powered By" graphic logos to download for all Apache projects. Powered By logos may be used more freely and in more contexts than the official project logos, including in ways that directly show the relationship between the Apache software product and various third party products and services.
The Apache feather logo is an important brand to the ASF as a whole, as well as to every Apache project. As a vendor-neutral public charity, the feather should only be used to refer to the ASF itself as an independent organization, and must never be used in contexts that appear to endorse or be affiliated with any other organization. The feather logo must never be modified except when necessary to accommodate limited printing technologies in physical contexts. The feather logo must never be used in direct conjunction with other organization logos or images.
The ASF Press team maintains the official Apache feather logos.
Please see our formal Trademark Policy and our site map of Trademark resources.
Nothing in this ASF policy statement shall be interpreted to allow any third party to claim any association with the Apache Software Foundation or any of its projects or to imply any approval or support by ASF for any third party products, services, or events.