Legal Stuff

FaunOS software is licensed to you under the terms of the GNU General Public License (GPL) Version 2.

FaunOS is an open source software distribution. Some components of this distribution may be available under less restrictive licensing terms from the original authors. For distributing software whose license is either GPL, or is compatible with the GPL, we have chosen to keep our licensing simple, and redistribute everything under an umbrella GPL. However, should we modify open source, non-GPL-ed code, our policy is to contribute our changes under the original license, as well.

A small number of third party software included in our distributions are neither GPL, nor GPL-compatible.

FaunOS™ and FaunOS logos are trademarks of FaunOS, LLC.

The following sections are designed to guide usage of our trademarks. Please note that these sections may be amended in the future. If in doubt, inquire in writing: trademarks.at.faunos.com.

Purpose

The purpose of a trademark is to clearly disambiguate the source of goods and services in the marketplace. By controlling the nature and quality of the goods and services that are marketed under the trademark, an organization aims to establish a level of quality associated with the mark. But ultimately, it can be argued "the purpose of trademark law is much more a consumer protection law -- avoiding a situation where someone is selling something while claiming it's actually something else (or endorsed by someone else)." [Source: techdirt.com]

Permitted Use

The following usages of our trademarks require no specific permission from us.

• Non-commercial redistributions of unmodified FaunOS binary releases through mirror sites, torrents, and other file sharing software bearing the FaunOS mark. When we make public releases by making the images and related files and software freely available for download on the faunos.com domain, you may share unmodified copies of these files bearing the exact filename as our original distribution with others in the community provided you do not charge for this redistribution.
• Advocacy, Commentary, Criticism and Parody. Of course you don't need our permission to use the term "FaunOS" in discussion forums, articles, wikis, and the like: such fair uses are your right under the law.

Any other use of the FaunOS trademarks requires written permission.

Example Infringements

Many people mistakenly conclude that a user's right to redistribute GPL-ed software (in orginal or modified form), also gives them the right to use the trademark under which the original was distributed. To help clarify the situation, we describe some illegal, hypothetical uses.

Selling or Marketing DVDs or USBs Labeled "Copy of FaunOS"

Even if you're selling an exact copy of a FaunOS distribution, you should not use the FaunOS name or mark. Associating your merchandise or service with the FaunOS name creates confusion in the marketplace, and may incorrectly suggest that your product is somehow affiliated or endorsed by FaunOS. The solution is to simply name your product or service something else.

Naming a Derivative Open Source Project Using a Confusingly Similar Name

You have every right to start your own derivative project. Just don't name it something confusingly similar to FaunOS.

All user-submitted content is copyright their authors.