IP policy
Introduction
Lisk has been an open-source project largely driven by its active community since the beginning. Our goal is to make blockchain technology accessible for a future in which everyone benefits from it. At Lisk, we intend to empower developers with a software development kit (“SDK”) for blockchain applications and we are working on an interoperability solution to let everyone seamlessly use them on our platform. This is why Lisk software tools are available for free and their code is released under open-source licenses.
We are of the opinion that the same rules should in general apply to any other content we produce at Lisk such as graphics, designs, logos, trademarks, marketing materials etc. (as further defined below, and hereinafter referred to as “Lisk Brand”). Nevertheless, we would like to protect the Lisk Brand from any activities which could create confusion regarding the source of origin or lead to misassociation.
We believe that a coherent brand appearance is an important factor for Lisk’s success, thus we protect it from any activities which may blur it or harm its reputation. The aim of this Lisk IP Policy (“Policy”) is therefore to define boundaries for acceptable usage of various elements of Lisk Brand as well as to provide necessary information on our intention to safeguard our brand. In order to do that, we established the following categories of using Lisk Brand:
I - Permissible Usage 1 - Usage without prior approval 2 - Usage with prior approval II - Prohibited Usage
The use of Lisk Brand may be subject to certain requirements depending on the category as explained in detail below, which will affect Lisk’s response accordingly. We tried to elaborate these categories with examples.
Lisk Brand is protected under the applicable copyright, trademark and unfair competition regimes. All rights to the Lisk Brand belong to Lisk Foundation registered at the commercial register of Canton Zug at CHE-476.156.977 as a Swiss foundation headquartered at Dammstrasse 16, 6300 Zug, Switzerland. Besides having protection by law, Lisk Brand is subject to the terms and conditions as laid out in this Policy. It is therefore crucial that you read this Policy carefully, before using Lisk Brand. However, as the world is changing constantly, it is therefore not possible to foresee all potential events that may occur with relation to Lisk Brand. Therefore to avoid any potential Intellectual Property (“IP”) infringements, please contact us should you have any doubts or questions – especially if you cannot find an answer to your question in this Policy. Please feel free to reach out to us by sending an email to legal@lisk.foundation. By doing so you also help us to continuously update this Policy to the needs of its users.
Lisk Brand
The Lisk Brand contains different types of visuals, sounds and written elements as laid out in detail in the Lisk Brand Style Guide and is composed of different parts which form the visual and graphic representation of Lisk such as:
- Lisk Trademarks;
- Lisk logotypes;
- Names of Lisk products (e.g. Lisk Mobile (App), Lisk Desktop, Lisk Core, Lisk Elements, Lisk SDK, Lisk Service, Lisk Explorer, Lisk Faucet, Lisk Commander, Lisk Mainnet, Lisk Testnet and further upcoming products);
- Names of programs ran by Lisk (Lisk Builders Program; Lisk Bug Bounty Program, Lisk Grant Program);
- Various elements of the design of Lisk products;
- Design of Lisk websites (https://lisk.com/ https://lisk.foundation/);
- Graphic elements used at Lisk’s social media (including especially our websites mentioned above) and communication channels;
- Videos, reports, articles and all other publications authored and released by Lisk.
Please note that not only each particular element of the Lisk Brand is granted protection, but also the whole Lisk Brand - which these elements form - is protected as well.
Lisk Brand Style Guide
For keeping a unique identity of the Lisk project we created the Lisk Brand Style Guide (“Style Guide”) to provide the necessary guidance to achieve a globally consistent design and brand message of Lisk. The Style Guide is available under the following link: Style Guide
While the Style Guide describes the unique identity characteristics, this Policy sets forth the permitted usage of the elements constituting Lisk Brand. Both documents are thus complementary.
Lisk Trademarks
Lisk Foundation holds rights to the following registered trademarks:
- Word trademark “Lisk”
- Figurative trademark “Lisk” with the following appearance:
Lisk Trademarks are registered for the following types of goods and services:
- Computer hardware, firmware and software; Computer software platforms; Application software for decentralized databases (blockchains); Software for buying, selling, trading, paying, triggering, storing and administering tokens; Computer software for electronic commerce (Nice Class 9).
- Finance; Monetary affairs; Banking; Money exchange transactions; Providing financial information relating to money exchange; Provision of financial information relating to currencies; Foreign exchange trading; Currency trading; Money transfer; Processing of electronic payments; Issuing and redeeming electronic tokens and tokens; Asset management services for electronic tokens and value units (e-wallet); financial services provided via electronic media (Nice Class 36).
- Providing access to electronic information, communication and transaction platforms on the Internet (Nice Class 38).
- Computer software development; Programming of software for e-commerce; Software design; Information and advice relating to computer software; Provision of computer programs for electronic commerce; Hosting platforms on the Internet (Nice Class 42).
Our trademarks are registered in the following countries/areas:
- Switzerland
- European Union
- UK
- USA
- Vietnam
- South Korea
- Singapore
- Japan
Old Lisk Brand
Since its inception in 2016, Lisk has used different elements of visual representation. Some of them are no longer (actively) used and they do not form the current Lisk Brand anymore. Nevertheless, we deem it necessary to refer to them here, not only because the use of old versions of logos etc. is prohibited, but also because these old logos etc. continue to be copyright protected as well.
Examples of old logos:
Permissible Usage
In general all elements of Lisk Brand are possible to be used if not stated differently in this Policy.
Usage without prior approval
Examples:- Activities, such as hosting events or writing articles, which are aimed at marketing and promoting Lisk in a positive way and are not profit-driven
- Developing applications by using Lisk SDK and referencing it to Lisk Brand as long as the reference supports a positive image of Lisk. Reference can be made so the application is built on Lisk or with the Lisk SDK, but it must be refrained from calling it "partnership" if not previously agreed.
- Use of Lisk Brand by members of Lisk Community (members who build with the Lisk SDK, strong supporters of Lisk) for the purposes of promoting Lisk.
The Lisk Foundation, in general, accepts the usage of Lisk Brand in the given cases without prior approval. Nevertheless, the Foundation reserves the right to prohibit the above-mentioned usages should circumstances change or the Lisk Foundation deems the usage as an infringement of the Lisk Brand.
We are aware that there is a certain spectrum regarding what might fall under a permissible usage on one hand and what is considered to be infringing content on the other, and that the evaluation might sometimes seem to be partially subjective. As it is our intention to give further clarity if needed, we encourage you to reach out to us in case of doubt by sending us an email to legal@lisk.foundation.
Usage with prior approval
The situations or activities in regard to the usage of Lisk Brand need to be evaluated by us on a case by case basis. Therefore, we think it is best to engage with us in regard to the intended usage so that we can provide clarity beforehand.
Examples:- Using Lisk Brand commercially such as selling merchandise;
- Using the name “Lisk” in the name of your product, services or in you company name;
- Registering or holding rights to an internet domain containing Lisk Trademarks or other designations forming Lisk Brand.
If you would like to make use of Lisk Brand in the above mentioned or similar situations, please reach out to Lisk Foundation’s legal department via legal@lisk.foundation and provide some details of the intended usage or activity.
Prohibited Usage
Although Lisk wants to be as permissionless as possible there are some cases and behaviors which Lisk does not tolerate and with which Lisk does not want to be associated with.
Examples:- Using Lisk Brand for illicit activities (e.g. drug trafficking, money laundering, fraud etc.);
- Activities against the interests of Lisk Foundation or hindering the fulfillment of its statutory purpose;
- Activities attracting wrong affiliation with the Lisk Project;
- Activities which publicly harm the reputation of Lisk Project;
- Activities which may blur the distinctive nature of Lisk Trademarks (e.g. using designations which are the same or confusingly similar to Lisk Trademarks for the areas of activity which are the same or similar to Lisk Project);
- Usage of the Old Lisk Brands;
Clarification
Lisk Foundation is not waiving any right whatsoever regarding its Lisk Brand IP due to this Policy and will protect Lisk Brand by all legal means if deemed necessary.
Notification of potential infringements
In case you encounter any potential infringement of Lisk Brand we encourage you to reach out to us by sending an email to legal@lisk.foundation.
Changes and updates to this IP Policy
This Policy is reviewed and revised from time to time. Further developments of the Lisk Brand may also require changes to this Policy. We, therefore, recommend that you revisit this Policy from time to time.