Legal: Trademark Guidelines

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The Open Group 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 Trademarks

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

The Open Group registered trademarks include:

  • ArchiMate
  • Jericho Forum
  • Making Standards Work
  • The Open Group
  • TOGAF
  • UNIX
  • The Open Brand (“X Device”)

The Open Group unregistered trademarks include:

  • The Open Group Certification Mark (“the open O”)
  • Boundaryless Information Flow
  • DirecNet
  • FACE
     

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 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 sponsorship, affiliation, or endorsement

You also may not imitate The Open Group 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 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 Correct: The ArchiMate modeling language includes an abstraction rule .......
    • IncorrectIncorrect: ArchiMate includes an abstraction rule .......
    • Correct Correct: The TOGAF standard describes an EA framework
    • IncorrectIncorrect: TOGAF describes an EA framework
    • Correct Correct: A UNIX system is a .......
    • IncorrectIncorrect: UNIX is a .......
  • Trademarks should be used as adjectives, not as nouns:
    • Correct Correct: The TOGAF framework is used by the world's leading organizations
    • IncorrectIncorrect: TOGAF is used by the world's leading organizations
    • Correct Correct: ABC Company’s UNIX system
    • IncorrectIncorrect: ABC Company’s UNIX
  • Never use a Trademark as a verb.
  • Never use a Trademark in the plural form:
    • Correct Correct: ABC company and EFG company use the same UNIX systems
    • IncorrectIncorrect: ABC company and EFG company use the same UNIXs
  • Never use a Trademark in the possessive form:
    •  Correct Correct: The TOGAF documentation is divided into seven parts
    • IncorrectIncorrect: TOGAF's documentation is divided into seven parts
    • Correct Correct: The UNIX system’s programming interface specifications
    • IncorrectIncorrect: UNIX’s programming interfaces.
  • Refrain from hyphenating a Trademark:
    • Correct Correct: I am TOGAF Certified
    • IncorrectIncorrect: I am TOGAF-Certified
    • Correct Correct: UNIX system-based
    • IncorrectIncorrect: UNIX-based , UNIX-like
    • Correct Correct: connecting PCs to UNIX systems
    • IncorrectIncorrect: PC-to-UNIX
  • The Trademarks should never be combined to form a new word, combined with other words, be hyphenated, or abbreviated: 
    • IncorrectIncorrect: The T*9 certification program
    • IncorrectIncorrect: UN*X
    • IncorrectIncorrect: 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:

ArchiMate®, Jericho Forum®, Making Standards Work®, The Open Group®, TOGAF®, UNIX®, and the ``X'' ® device are registered trademarks and Boundaryless Information Flow™, DirecNet™, FACE™ and The Open Group Certification Mark™ are trademarks of The Open Group.

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.

Checklist for Use in Presentations

  1. Have you use the applicable trademark symbol ® or ™ on first use of The Open Group trademark?
  • Correct Correct: An Introduction to the TOGAF® standard.
  • IncorrectIncorrect: An Introduction to TOGAF.
  • Correct Correct: An Overview of the FACE™ standard.
  • IncorrectIncorrect: An Overview of FACE.
  1. Have you included the applicable trademark(s) acknowledgement in the presentation?
  • Correct Correct: TOGAF® is a registered trademark of The Open Group.
  • Correct Correct: ArchiMate® and TOGAF® are registered trademarks of The Open Group.
  • Correct Correct:The Open Group® is a registered trademark and Boundaryless Information Flow™ is a trademark of The Open Group.
  1. Are all uses of The Open Group trademarks as per the preceeding Trademark Usage Guidelines?

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

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