CRE Loaded Trademark Usage Policy                               Version 1.0

Introduction

This document outlines the policy of Chain Reaction Ecommerce, Inc. ("CRE") regarding the use of its trademarks. Any use of any CRE trademark must be in accordance with this policy.

"CRE Loaded" is a trademark of CRE. The CRE Loaded logos (in several variants) are trademarks of CRE as well. The words and logos are not registered, but registration does not equal ownership of trademarks.

All trademarks, even those that apply to open source software, must be used according to certain legal requirements. If these requirements are not met, the trademark may be endangered or lost. One of these requirements is for the trademark owner (in this case, CRE) to maintain standards for using its trademarks, and to enforce acceptable use of the trademarks by taking action against parties that violate those standards.

Trademark law is mainly a way to protect the public, rather than the trademark holder. This means that uses of trademarks that confuse consumers -- which in our case would include our developer and user community, or anyone else who might be likely to use CRE Loaded software  -- are not permitted under law.  As the owner of the trademark, we must be sure the mark is used properly, so the community is not confused. That is what we mean when we say that an unpoliced trademark may be endangered or lost. When the trademark no longer represents a certain level of quality to the community, or no longer indicates that we are the source of the products that bear the trademark, the trademark loses its value.

Underlying CRE's trademark policy is a set of guidelines for what is -- and is not -- acceptable use of CRE's trademarks, specifically the word mark "CRE Loaded", the CRE Loaded logos, and variations of those marks. This policy describes the uses generally approved by CRE for its trademarks. However, if you violate this policy, or otherwise take actions that may compromise the goodwill or trademarks of CRE, or expose CRE to liability, CRE may require you to cease all use of any CRE trademark, regardless of the uses allowed in this policy.

General Goals

In general, we want the word mark "CRE Loaded" and the CRE Loaded logos to be used with minimal restriction to refer to the CRE Loaded software platform. 

We do not want these trademarks to be used:

• to refer to any other software platform not directly supplied and supported by CRE
• in a way that is misleading or may imply association of unrelated modules, tools, documentation, or other resources with the CRE Loaded software platform
• in ways that confuse the community as to whether the CRE Loaded application is open source

All trademarks are subject to "nominative use rules" that allow use of the trademark to name the trademarked entity in a way that is minimal and does not imply a sponsorship relationship with the trademark holder.

As such, stating accurately that software is CRE Loaded, that it is compatible with CRE Loaded, or that it contains the CRE Loaded application, is always allowed. In those cases, you may use the word "CRE Loaded" to indicate this, without our prior approval. This is true both for non-commercial and commercial uses.

This clause overrides other clauses of this policy. However, if you have any doubts about your intended use of the trademarks, please contact the CRE Loaded team.

Uses that Always Require Approval

Any commercial use of the CRE Loaded trademarks in product or company names, urls or domains names must be approved first by CRE Loaded.  Some uses, like calling a company "The CRE Loaded Company," or a product "CRE Loaded Software" or "CRE Loaded Shopping Cart" will be refused. This is because they are overly broad, or confusing as to whether CRE Loaded is open source or commercial, or whether your product or organization is affiliated with or sponsored by CRE Loaded.

Any use of a derived (modified) logo for any commercial purpose must also be approved first by CRE Loaded. We will generally be unable to do this, because of the confusion it may cause.

How to Use the Trademarks

Although many uses of CRE Loaded's trademarks are governed by more specific rules, which appear in the examples below, the following basic guidelines apply to almost any use of CRE Loaded's trademarks.

The CRE Loaded name and logos are not registered. (We will post an update to this policy when they are registered later.) The name and logos should be used in the form provided by CRE, and should be accompanied by a symbol for unregistered trademarks: "(TM)" or a small TM "^TM". This may not be removed or obscured and must always be included with the logo. This requirement is waived in all contexts where such marks are not normally included: email, online discussion, non-graphical advertisements (when permitted), and academic papers. We encourage the use of the symbol whenever possible, but recognize that many non-commercial and informal uses will omit it.

Try to give the word "CRE Loaded" distinctive graphic treatment wherever possible. The trademark should be set apart from surrounding text by using ALLCAPS, italics, emphasized or underlined fonts.

If the word "CRE Loaded" or when the CRE logos are used in certain contexts, the following statement should accompany its use: "CRE Loaded" and the CRE logos are trademarks of Chain Reaction Ecommerce, Inc. used by permission only."

For websites and documentation this can be on a "legal statements" page. For brochures and published articles, this statement is optional. Otherwise it is not required. We encourage use of this statement, but recognize many non-commercial and informal uses will omit it.

Always use any trademark as either a noun or adjective only. For instance, it is correct to refer to CRE Loaded software (noun) or to your CRE Loaded Shopping Cart (adjective). Don't use the trademark as a verb ("CRE Load your web store today!").

Examples

We have specific rules for the following uses:

• Use of the word "CRE loaded" in text, or as text in 3rd party logos and trademarks.
• Use of one of the CRE-provided logo variants in unaltered form.
• Use of a logo derived from the CRE Loaded logos. For example, use of the circular graphic combined with different text, or with no text, or in combination with other graphic elements.
• The following rules apply to the use of trademarks in each of these three classes.
• The word "CRE Loaded"
• Use of the word "CRE Loaded" in company and URL names -- Allowed only by prior written permission from CRE Loaded.
• Use of the word "CRE Loaded" as part of a domain name.
• Use of the word "CRE Loaded" when redistributing the code as part of a freely distributed application -- Allowed.  If the standard version of CRE Loaded is modified, this should be clearly indicated. For commercial distributions, contact the CRE Loaded team for permission if your use is not covered by the nominative use rules described in the section "Uses that Never Require Approval" above.
• Use of the word "CRE Loaded" in the names of user groups and conferences that are free to join or attend (Ex., "Dallas CRE Loaded Users Group") -- Allowed if for CRE Loaded programmers, developers or users. Other uses require permission.
• Use of the word "CRE Loaded" in the name of books or publications like "CRE Loaded Journal" and "CRE Loaded Guides" -- Allowed if used for CRE Loaded information distribution.
• Use of the word "CRE Loaded" on websites, brochures, documentation, and product packaging -- Allowed if referring to CRE Loaded as a software platform. Please follow the rules above about the use of the TM symbol.
• Use of the word "CRE Loaded" in advertisements -- Allowed in most cases by the nominative use rules described in the section "Uses that Never Require Approval" above. Other uses in ads only with prior permission by the CRE Loaded team.
• Use of the word "CRE Loaded" in email and informally -- Allowed without the TM symbol.
• Use of the word "CRE Loaded" in academic papers, theses, and books -- Allowed without the TM symbol. Books should include the symbol.
• Use of the word "CRE Loaded" in another trademark -- Not allowed without prior written permission from CRE Loaded, except as described above.
• Unaltered Logos
• Use of unaltered CRE Loaded-provided logos on T-shirts, mugs, etc. -- Again, non-commercial uses to promote CRE Loaded are allowed. Commercial uses (which includes any use where you sell these items for money) require permission from CRE Loaded. Please reproduce our logos with the right colors and fonts; if you need help, contact the CRE Loaded team.
• Use of unaltered CRE Loaded-provided logos on websites, brochures, and product packaging -- Non-commercial uses to promote the CRE Loaded software platform are allowed, as are all nominative uses as described in the section "Uses that Never Require Approval".  Any other commercial uses (this is where you sell any product that uses the mark CRE Loaded) require prior written permission from CRE Loaded.

Derived Logos

Derived logos must always be sufficiently different from the CRE Loaded logos to allow the community to tell the difference. For example, if you want to create a derived logo for a local CRE Loaded user group, you might be able to insert an unaltered CRE Loaded logo graphic into the local group's name in a way that does not cause confusion. But confusingly similar derived logos are not allowed. This includes entwining CRE Loaded logos with other logos, or connecting them together in a confusing manner. Logos that simply change the colors or fonts are not allowed.

• Use of freely distributable derived logos as icons for files and executables -- Allowed if used to refer to the CRE Loaded software platform. Commercial users should obtain permission before using derived logos as icons for proprietary file formats.
• Use of derived logos for user groups and conferences -- Allowed if used to refer to the CRE Loaded software platform. Commercial user groups and for-profit conferences require permission from CRE Loaded.
• Use of derived logos for freely distributed 3rd-party modules or tools -- Allowed if for the CRE Loaded software platform.  Use of derived logos for commercial modules (this means if you sell the modules) and tools requires permission from CRE Loaded.

We recommend contacting CRE Loaded for permission for all derived logos to avoid placing a confusing logo into widespread use. Contacting us is not a requirement for the specific non-commercial uses listed above, or when using freely distributable derived logos that have already been approved by CRE Loaded. However, obtaining permission from CRE Loaded is required in all other uses of a derived logo.

Notes

The word mark "CRE Loaded" is a trademark by use beginning in January 2004. (See http://www.uspto.gov/web/offices/tac/doc/basic/register.htm.)

CRE Loaded partners and website members do not receive any preferential treatment under this policy. However, if you think you may have used the CRE Loaded trademarks in the past in ways that would violate this policy, we recommend seeking permission. Although we are not generally in the business of suing for past infringement of our trademarks, CRE Loaded does reserve the right to deny trademark use that violates this policy. Past use in violation of this policy does not confer a right to continue that use.

As a member of the CRE Loaded community, please keep an eye out for questionable uses of the CRE Loaded logo and "CRE Loaded" word mark. You can report potential misuse to the CRE Loaded team. We will evaluate each case and take appropriate action.

Please do not approach users of the trademarks with a complaint. That should be left to the CRE Loaded board or its representatives.

For questions or comments please email tm@creloaded.com