Trademark Guidelines
The Open Group’s trademarks and service marks (“The Trademarks”) are valuable assets that The Open Group needs to protect. We ask you to help us by properly using and crediting The Trademarks in accordance with these guidelines.

The Open Group’s Trademarks

The Open Group owns various registered and unregistered trademarks in certain territories. These include:

• The Open Group
• Boundaryless Information Flow
• UNIX
• The Open Group Certification Mark (“the open O”)
• The Open Brand (“X Device”)
• Making Standards Work
• X/Open
• Motif
• OSF/1
• Open Network Computer and the Open Network Computer logo
• TOGAF

Trademark Usage Guidelines

Proper Use of The Trademarks reinforces their role as brands and helps prevent them from becoming generic names that can be used by anyone. By adhering to the correct usage guidelines, you help protect The Open Group’s investment in its trademarks. However, of themselves, these guidelines do not grant permission to use any trademark.

Please note that The Trademarks may not be used:

• As a generic term
• In connection with products, unless the product is licensed to use the mark
• In any way that could cause confusion as to The Open Group’s sponsorship, affiliation or endorsement. You also may not imitate The Open Group’s trade dress, type style or logos

When using The Trademarks:

• In editorial or articles, but in not advertising, The Trademarks may be used without prior permission - provided that the rules in our Trademark Usage Guidelines are followed. In all other cases, obtaining a prior permission is required.
• Detailed guidelines referring to the visual presentation, graphical design, form and manner of use must be followed. The Trademarks must always be used with white around them and must never be superimposed on or used in association with other graphics or trademarks.
• In print, whenever and wherever The Trademark appears, it must be distinguished from the surrounding text. This applies to all forms of printed media, including advertising copy, product packaging, brochures, manuals, internal memoranda, editorial, articles, correspondence, overhead projector slides and presentation materials, and to computer video screens. Methods of distinguishing The Trademark include printing it in UPPER CASE, italicized font, bold faced font, Initial Capital Letters or placing The Trademark in ‘‘quotation marks’’.
• The Trademark should always be followed by the common generic (the dictionary name) of the product:
• Correct : A UNIX system is a .......
• Incorrect : UNIX is a .......
• Trademarks should be used as adjectives, not as nouns:
• Correct : ABC Company’s UNIX system
• Incorrect : ABC Company’s UNIX
• Never use a Trademark as a verb.
• Never use a Trademark in the plural form:
• Correct : ABC company and EFG company use the same UNIX systems
• Incorrect : ABC company and EFG company use the same UNIXs
• Never use a Trademark in the possessive form:
• Correct : The UNIX system’s programming interface specifications
• Incorrect : UNIX’s programming interfaces.
• · Refrain from hyphenating a Trademark:
• Correct : UNIX system-based
• Incorrect : UNIX-based
• Correct : ABCs UNIX implementation-based
• Incorrect : PC-to-UNIX
• Correct : connecting PCs to UNIX systems
• Incorrect: UNIX-like
• The Trademarks should never be combined to form a new word, combined with other words, be hyphenated or abbreviated:
• Incorrect : UN*X
• Incorrect : Xopn

Trademark Acknowledgment

An acknowledgment is required whenever a trademark of The Open Group is used. The trademark attribution is important as it reminds competitors, licensees, customers and others that The Open Group claims exclusive rights in the marks. The correct acknowledgment is:

The Open Group, Motif, Making Standards Work, OSF/1, UNIX and the "X" device are registered trademarks, and TOGAF and Boundaryless Infomation Flow are trademarks of The Open Group in the US and other countries.

You should always mark the first or most significant occurrence of The Trademark as appropriate and must place the required attribution as a footnote. The attribution should use the ® symbol for a registered trademark and the ™ symbol for an unregistered trademark.

Please note that:

• It is acceptable to use an asterisk in place of the trademark symbol where the medium used (for example, electronic mail) cannot reproduce the ® or ™ symbols. However, this is not intended to authorize use of the asterisk as the norm
• You may translate the trademark attribution to national language(s)
• Blanket or generic attributions (such as ‘‘All trademarks are the property of their respective owners’’) are not acceptable
• Individual trademarks may be acknowledged

Questions? Please review our Frequently Asked Questions about Trademarks and Copyright page.
Trademark and Copyright FAQ