Trademark Guidelines

Posit Software, PBC (“Posit”, “we”, “us”, or “our”) (formerly known as RStudio, PBC) is proud to offer open source products such as the RStudio® IDE and the Shiny® web application framework that are free to all. As an open-source software company, we expect others to utilize and even build upon our open source code with copyright permissions granted under the provisions of the GNU Affero General Public License version 3 (AGPL v.3) here.

While the copyright to our open source software is licensed under AGPL v.3, our trademarks appearing in or on the open source software are the exclusive property of Posit and are not licensed under the AGPL v.3. In addition to trademarks appearing in our open source software products, Posit exclusively owns a number of other registered and common law trademarks. Posit’s trademarks are its exclusive property and Posit reserves all rights in its trademarks. The use of Posit’s trademarks is strictly prohibited without Posit’s express written permission. 

If you are a licensee of Posit, you must consult your agreement with Posit for any additional or different requirements applicable to your use of Posit’s trademarks. In the event of a conflict between your agreement with RStudio and these Trademark Guidelines, the terms of your agreement control. 

Our trademarks include without limitation the following:

Posit™

Shiny®

By downloading or installing Posit software or creating an account to use Posit hosted services, you agree to the terms of these Trademark Guidelines. Posit reserves the right to change these guidelines at any time, so you should periodically check these guidelines to be sure that you are in compliance. Want more information regarding trademarks? Then visit our Trademark FAQ here https://www.rstudio.com/about/trademark/faq/.

Posit’s trademarks act as an indication of source. They let our customers know that when they are using a product bearing an Posit trademark, or receive services from a company using a Posit trademark, that those products and services are coming directly from us, or from companies  to whom we have given authorization to offer our products and services.

Moreover, we have a legal duty to police the use of their trademarks, and to ensure that they are only used by us or with our permission. For this reason, Posit’s permission is absolutely required to use any of our trademarks for any reason, including without limitation as part of any project, product, service, domain name, or company name. If you become aware of any improper use of Posit’s trademarks, including infringement or counterfeiting by third parties, report them to Posit immediately as described below under the heading “Reports of Abuse”. 

Automatic Permitted Use

We will grant automatic permission to use the Posit trademarks (no written application or permission required) where the primary purpose of the use is to foster the use of open source languages, our open source software products, or our professional software products (teach, promote and/or improve), and:

• Your project incorporates Posit products, in unmodified form as supplied by Posit, only as components internal to your application or used in its hosting;
• Your project identifies interactive applications or other web content developed and published using the Shiny® web application framework and you include  “powered by Posit™”, “created with Posit™ and Shiny®”, or “created with RStudio® and Shiny®”,
• You are using a graphic or other materials provided by Posit, in unmodified form, to promote an event you are hosting or the fact that you are attending or speaking at the event; or
• You are using Posit’s name and/or logo for an academic purpose (such as in a textbook, powerpoint presentation or other written materials) where the primary purpose is to inform or teach students about Posit’s professional software products.

In all cases, such use must be accompanied by the following trademark notice: “Posit, RStudio, and Shiny are trademarks of Posit Software, PBC, all rights reserved, and may be registered in the United States Patent and Trademark Office and in other countries.”

Finally, it is permissible to use the Posit™, RStudio®, and Shiny® trade names to discuss Posit and its products in a fair and honest manner that does not suggest sponsorship or endorsement by, or affiliation with, Posit, but in these circumstances use of Posit logos is not permitted.

Use that Requires Permission from Posit

Unless you have express written permission from Posit, or your use is permitted pursuant to the automatic permission set forth under the  “Automatically Permitted” heading above, use of Posit trademarks is strictly prohibited. Here is a short, non-exhaustive list of the kinds of uses that are not permitted without Posit’s express written permission, but that Posit may consider granting you the right to do should you request permission as described below under the heading “Requesting Permission”:

• Use of Posit trademarks in connection with the provision of a public website that makes Posit products available for download (rather than directing users to the official Posit product download site);
• Use of Posit trademarks in connection with Posit products bundled with other software; or
• Use of Posit trademarks in connection with hosted versions of Posit products made publicly available or made available on a service bureau, application service provider, managed service provider, resale or other commercial basis.

Posit’s trademarks may not be used by a third party as part of that party’s product, service or trade name without an express written agreement from Posit permitting such use. Licensees must consult their agreements with Posit to determine whether and under what circumstances they can use Post’s trademarks in this way. 

You may not incorporate Posit’s trademarks in any domain name or in any Meta tag or other hidden text in a Web page. 

In an effort to control widespread misuse of its marks, Posit reserves the right to restrict the use of its trademarks in any form of search engine marketing or advertising. 

Requesting Permission

Anyone wishing to use any of Posit’s trademarks in a manner other than the automatic permitted uses listed under the heading “Automatically Permitted” above, including but not limited to the examples described under the heading above “Use that Requires Permission from Posit” or for marketing, promotion or advertising, on hardware, or on software derivative of Posit software, must obtain the express, written permission of Posit Software, PBC in advance.

To request permission to use a Posit trademark, please contact us at permissions@posit.co.

Should Posit grant the requested permission, such permission must be in the form of a written license or other authorization, which may require your payment of a license fee or fees to Posit, the details of which will be dependent on the specific request.

Trademark Usage Guidelines

Always follow these ten rules when using Posit trademarks: 

1. Never alter Posit trademarks. Note that the proper form for Posit trademarks sometimes includes “Posit” and sometimes does not. Also, never shorten, abbreviate or use alternate spellings of Posit’s trademarks. 
2. Always distinguish a trademark from surrounding text. Methods of distinguishing a mark include printing it in CAPITALS, italicized text, using bold faced text, Initial Capitalization, putting the mark in “quotation marks,” and/or using the appropriate trademark symbol (see Attribution below). 
3. Do not combine Posit trademarks with other trademarks or other words to form new trademarks. 
4. Never alter Posit logos without authorization. All Posit logos must be reproduced from materials supplied by Posit. Each representation of the Posit mark should be consistent, undistorted, and clear. Always follow the specifications set forth in the materials provided by Posit. You may only use Posit’s logos and stylized trademarks if your use complies with the guidelines set forth in these Trademark Guidelines and your license agreement with Posit. 
5. Always provide proper attribution for our trademarks. For more information, see Attribution, below. 
6. Always follow all applicable marketing and legal guidelines. From time to time, Posit may modify the written guidelines for the size, typeface, colors and other graphic characteristics of any Posit logo and word marks, making it imperative to review all updates. You are subject to the guidelines as then in effect. 
7. Advertising for products sold in association with any Posit trademark must not be in violation of any United States federal or state laws, municipal ordinances or administrative agency regulations, or any applicable laws, rules or regulations of any other country. 

Attribution

Proper use of trademark symbols

Which trademark symbol should be used? Trademarks may be designated by two symbols: ™ for marks with pending applications to register and for unregistered common law marks, and ® for marks registered in the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office. For information on the proper symbol to use, please refer to the Posit trademarks list above or email Posit at trademarks@posit.co.

Where should the trademark symbol be placed? The symbol is placed immediately after the mark, either in superscript or subscript. If the document cannot be typeset in superscript or subscript, the “TM” symbol may be set in normal type and enclosed in parentheses. 

When should the trademark symbol be used? Most prominent uses: A trademark symbol is required on all prominent uses of Posit marks, such as on packaging, brochures, labels, and headlines. First use in text: A trademark symbol is required upon the first use of a Posit mark in text or body copy, even if the mark has appeared with a trademark symbol in the same piece, such as in a headline or other prominent use. A trademark symbol is not required for any subsequent use of a mark in the same text, unless use of the symbol would avoid ambiguity. Logos: A trademark symbol is required with every use of a Posit logo. 

Proper use of trademark attribution statements

In addition to proper use of trademark symbols, every use of a Posit trademark must be accompanied by a statement attributing ownership of the mark to Posit. The attribution statement should appear in the following form: 

“[List of Posit marks appearing in the piece] are trademarks of Posit Software, PBC, all rights reserved, and may be registered in the United States Patent and Trademark Office and in other countries.” 

Reports of Abuse

Have you seen unauthorized use of the Posit trademarks? We appreciate all reports of suspected unauthorized use. Please contact us at abuse@posit.co. Report as much detail as possible about the misuse, including the name of the party, contact information, and copies or photographs of the potential misuse.

Conclusion

These Trademark Guidelines are not a definitive statement of proper trademark use. Posit reserves the right to oppose any use of its trademarks that Posit, in its sole discretion, deems unlawful or improper, even if such use is not expressly prohibited hereunder. Posit further reserves the right to revise these Trademark Guidelines at any time, without notice. 

Additional Information

For additional information regarding Posit’s trademarks, you may contact us at trademarks@posit.co.