Bacula Copyrights, Trademarks, and Patent Guidelines
BACULA SYSTEMS RESERVES THE RIGHT TO CHANGE THESE GUIDELINES AT ANY TIME. YOU SHOULD PERIODICALLY CHECK THESE GUIDELINES TO BE SURE THAT YOU ARE IN COMPLIANCE.
First in broad terms, Bacula Systems SA releases open source code to the Bacula Community (www.bacula.org) project, and releases Bacula Enterprise proprietary code as binaries to (www.baculasystems.com).
The original Copyrights, Trademarks, and Patents were created and owned by Kern Sibbald, but after his retirement as project leader of the open source Bacula.org project all the copyrights, trademarks, and a patent were transmitted to Bacula Systems SA.
There are five main topics that these Guidelines cover:
1. Bacula Enterprise Copyrights
2. Bacula Enterprise Trademarks
3. Bacula Enterprise Patents
4. Bacula Community Copyrights
5. Bacula Community Trademarks
1. Bacula Enterprise Copyrights
The Bacula Enterprise source code is proprietary and is not available to the public. However, Bacula Enterprise binary code is available to the public through Enterprise subscriptions.
2. Bacula Enterprise Trademarks
Bacula Systems Trademarks are proprietary and can only be used with written permission from Bacula Systems. Generally written permission to use these Trademarks is available through partner agreements or subscriptions.
3. Bacula Enterprise Patents
Bacula Systems holds a patent on Aligned Volume Deduplication. Permission to use Bacula Enterprise binary code also grants permission to use the Aligned Volume Deduplication code contained in the Enterprise binaries.
4. Bacula Community Copyrights
The Bacula community project (www.bacula.org) source code is released by Bacula Systems under the GNU AGPLv3 license with a few files being released under other compatible open source licenses. This Bacula community code may be freely modified and distributed subject to the terms of the AGPLv3 license, which primarily requires distribution of the source code including the source to all changes.
The requirement that all distributed changes must be released with source code with a AGPLv3 or compatible license applies to all source changes as well as any released plugins that work with the Bacula community source code. Applying the AGPLv3 license to all source including plugins ensures that the all the Bacula community source code will always remain available to the community. Note, though it is possible to fork the source code, any modified code must be released under a different name.
5. Bacula Community Trademarks
The Bacula name trademark and Bacula logo are generally freely available for use and distribution.
However, please note that the use of the Bacula name, which is a registered trademark, on any modified Bacula source code is not permitted.
General:
Bacula Systems has been an active contributor to the Bacula open source community. One of the key features of open source software is that anyone has the right to copy, modify and redistribute the community software, subject to the terms and conditions of certain license agreements or copyright emissions, such as the GNU General Public License. It is important to understand that, although Bacula Systems allows third parties to replicate its open source software under the GNU AGPLv3, absent a written agreement or other express permission it does not allow third parties to use its trademarks. For example, absent a trademark license from Bacula Systems, a party would have the right to copy, modify and distribute the Bacula community opensource software, but the full source code must also be distributed under the AGPLv3 license, and they would have to call it by another name.
Bacula Systems has always been fully supportive of open source rights with regard to copyrights and demonstrates that support by periodically releasing some of the proprietary software we develop under open source licenses.
A Brief Introduction To Copyright And Trademark Law As They Relate To Software
The guidelines in this document are based on United States law. Although many countries follow the same principles discussed below, the laws of other countries may also differ on some points.
Copyright
Copyright law protects the expression of an idea. When Bacula Systems develops new software, it owns the copyright in the software. Bacula Enterprise® consists of hundreds of files, some developed by Bacula Systems and many contributions developed by members of the open source community.
At the same time, the combined body of work that constitutes Bacula Enterprise® is a collective work which has been organized by Bacula Systems, and Bacula Systems holds the copyright in that collective work, which is proprietary.
Separate from the Enterprise version, Bacula Systems also releases code to the community version (www.bacula.org) which is licensed under AGPLv3 to permit others to copy, modify and redistribute the work under the terms of the AGPLv3 license.
Although the community software is licensed under the AGPLv3 is “open source software,” Bacula Systems retains ownership of the copyright. If someone violates the AGPLv3 license regarding that collective work, only Bacula Systems, as the copyright owner and licensor of that collective work, has legal authority to enforce the AGPL against the violator. Although Bacula Systems “owns” the collective work, in licensing it under the AGPLv3, Bacula Systems grants broad rights in the collective work to others. Neither the AGPL nor Bacula Systems’ Support License Agreement grant any right to use Bacula System’s trademarks in the redistribution of the collective community version.
Protection of Trademarks
Under trademark law, owners of trademarks who use their trademarks improperly or who fail to police the use of their trademarks by others may lose their rights in those trademarks. For instance, now-common words such as “zipper” and “elevator” were trademarks at one time. Their owners allowed the marks to be widely known and used as generic names for the associated products, and, as a result, all trademark protection was lost. Some examples of trademarks that are protected by their owners at great lengths today from generic names include Kleenex® brand facial tissues, Band-Aid® brand bandages and Xerox® brand photocopiers.
In addition to monitoring the use of trademarks by others, policing also requires maintaining control over the nature and quality of the goods and services that are marketed under the trademarks. Bacula Systems has filed a registration for the trademark Bacula Systems™ and the Bacula Systems logo in the United States Patent and Trademark Office. Our unregistered trademarks are also protected under trademark law. Unregistered trademarks of Bacula Systems include, but are not limited to, Bacula Enteprise Edition™, Bweb Enterprise Edition™, and BAT Enterprise Edition™.
“Fair Use” of Trademarks
Although a trademark owner should take action to police the use of its trademarks by others, it cannot prevent others from using its trademarks under all circumstances. For instance, a company may refer to the trademarks of competing products in marketing its own products. As an example, Burger King might choose to state in advertisements that “Burger King® french fries were preferred over McDonald’s® french fries in a taste test.” Although McDonald’s® is a trademark of McDonald’s Corporation, Burger King could mention it in its marketing in this fashion so long as the statement is truthful and not misleading, does not imply an improper association with or sponsorship by McDonald’s and otherwise complies with applicable laws.
A key element in evaluating whether the use of someone else’s trademark is acceptable is whether the use is likely to cause confusion in the marketplace as to the source or sponsorship of a product. Burger King’s use of “McDonald’s®” in the statement above is not likely to lead consumers to believe that Burger King® french fries are a product of McDonald’s or that Burger King® french fries emanate from or are sponsored or approved by McDonald’s Corporation.
A. Use of the Brand “Bacula Systems” or “Bacula Enterprise”
Bacula Systems™ and Bacula Enterprise registered trademarks of Bacula Systems SA. and may be used only with Bacula Systems’ express written permission. You may not use “Bacula Systems” or “Bacula Enterprise” or any confusingly similar mark as a trademark for your product, or use “Bacula Systems” in any other manner that might cause confusion in the marketplace, including in advertising, on auction sites, or on software or hardware. The only way to obtain permission to use Bacula Systems’ trademark is by entering into a written license agreement with Bacula Systems SA, signed by both Bacula Systems and the licensee or by qualifying under or complying with the ‘‘Trademark Permissions’’ set forth in these Guidelines. Absolutely no exceptions. If you are a publisher of software, books, t-shirts or any other products, you may not use the Bacula Systems trademarks unless you have entered into a written agreement with Bacula Systems that allows you to do so or you qualify for use under the ‘‘Trademark Permissions.’’ If you are a consumer of a product that contains the Bacula Systems trademark, and you believe it is not an official product of Bacula Systems SA, please bring it to our attention by contacting Bacula Systems SA, Legal Affairs, Rue Galilée 11, 1400 Yverdon-les-Bains, Switzerland.
B. Use of the Bacula Systems Logo
The Bacula Systems logo is also a registered trademark of Bacula Systems SA. It may not be used on any products without Bacula Systems’ express written permission. The only way to obtain permission to use the Bacula Systems logo is by entering into a written license agreement with Bacula Systems SA, signed by both Bacula Systems and the licensee or by qualifying under or complying with the “Trademark Permissions” set forth in these Guidelines. Absolutely no exceptions. If you are a publisher of software, books, t shirts or any other products, you may not use the Bacula Systems logo unless you have entered into a written agreement with Bacula Systems that allows you to do so or you qualify for use under the “Trademark Permissions”. If you are a consumer of a product that contains the Bacula Systems logo, and you believe it is not an official product of Bacula Systems SA, please bring it to our attention by contacting Bacula Systems SA, Legal Affairs, Rue Galilée 11, 1400 Yverdon-les-Bains, Switzerland.
C. “Plays On Words” And Other Actions That May Cause Confusion Are Also Prohibited
Bacula Systems SA has spent time and money to establish goodwill in its products, services and trademarks. As a result, you may not use the words “Bacula“ or “Bacula Systems“ or “Bacula Enterprise” (together or individually), words with similar connotations or pronunciations, translations of those words, or other words that may cause confusion in the market as a trademark for your products. Some examples of prohibited uses include, but are not limited to, “Baculer”, “Baculer Systems” , “Bakula”, “Back-Yu-La”, and “Bachula”.
All Other Questions
You should contact communications@baculasystems.com, and we will discuss possible arrangements with you.
Conclusion
This document is designed to assist Bacula community and Bacula Enterprise users of their obligations and limitations. If you have any questions, please contact us at Bacula Systems SA, Legal Affairs, Avenue des Sciences 11, 1400 Yverdon-les-Bains, Switzerland.
