Usage of FRR names/logos
========================


As FRRouting has become a popular open source suite of routing protocol
implementations, it has also become popular to use FRRouting as an environment
to prototype or test new features/protocols/etc. in.  Such use is absolutely
welcome (and a freedom guaranteed by the GPL license).

However, references to FRRouting in such context can be misunderstood both as
endorsements as well as promises of current or future availability.  To contain
such misunderstandings, we would like to place the following limitations on the
use of the "FRRouting" name (or "FRR" where clear by context) as well as the
"chicken-head" logo (as they are ultimately "valuable trademarks"):

- Advertisements, presentations, announcements, etc. of projects based on 
  FRRouting may only reference the 3 above-mentioned marks if the full source
  code of said project is publicly available (under terms compatible with
  FRRouting's licenses and without any access barriers) and locatable (either
  by direct link or a reasonable search) on the internet.

- References to code or features using the wording "in" FRRouting may only be
  made for bits that are part of FRRouting's "master" or "stable" branches (or
  history).  This is specifically about the word "in".

- use in previously created documents/publications/... is permitted
  ("grandfathered"), so long as the use retains its context.  Noone is
  expected to scan their history and eliminate references.


The intent is as follows:

- you are under no obligation to publish code just because it exists.  The
  above are only restrictions on the use of FRRouting trademarks.

- The code itself being derivative of FRRouting (and therefore containing the
  name/logo) is not considered use of the trademarks.  You do not need to
  eliminate the name from your private codebase.

- pushing your code to github and/or opening a (maybe draft) PR trivially
  fulfills the availability condition above, and we'd like to encourage this
  as the "default".  However, publishing on your own hosting services is also
  acceptable.

- please use phrasing like "available *for* FRRouting" or "we have implemented
  XYZ *using* FRRouting", and refrain from "available *in* FRRouting" or "we
  have implemented XYZ *in* FRRouting".  In particular due to the world-wide
  and multilingual nature of the FRRouting community, *in* carries too high a
  risk for confusion - and conversely, reserving this term also allows clear
  and meaningful signaling of some (your?) code in fact becoming part of
  FRRouting.

- while "advertisement" may create an impression of "sales call" or "vendor
  presentation", this also applies to engineering processes such as IETF
  standards development work.


These rules, while lawyer-y to some degree, are intended to convey FRRouting
community consensus and help clarify communication.  We certainly hope we will
never need to pick them apart or even legally enforce them.  However, in the
spirit of all legalese:

This document is not to be construed as any grant of rights, guarantees,
agreement or other similar, even implicit.


P.S.: note that "Free Range Routing" is not a name we use, and neither should
you - there seem to be conflicting trademarks from completely unrelated
parties.
