# Trademark

**Sovrium** is a registered trademark of **ESSENTIAL SERVICES** (registered in France, and potentially other jurisdictions). This page summarizes the trademark usage guidelines. The full notice lives in [`TRADEMARK.md`](https://github.com/sovrium/sovrium/blob/main/TRADEMARK.md) at the root of the repository.

## Copyright versus trademark

The project keeps copyright and trademark deliberately separate:

| Legal aspect | Owner              | What it protects                                                                       |
| ------------ | ------------------ | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |
| Copyright    | ESSENTIAL SERVICES | The source code, documentation, and creative works (under [BSL 1.1](/en/docs/license)) |
| Trademark    | ESSENTIAL SERVICES | The "Sovrium" brand name and logo                                                      |
| Domain       | ESSENTIAL SERVICES | The sovrium.com web property                                                           |

This separation means the code can eventually become open source while the brand stays protected.

## Permitted use

You may use the name "Sovrium" when:

- Referring to this software factually ("built with Sovrium", "compatible with Sovrium")
- Describing your own project that uses Sovrium ("MyApp uses Sovrium for its backend")
- Contributing to the Sovrium project
- Writing tutorials or documentation about Sovrium

## Prohibited use

You may **not** use "Sovrium" to:

- Name your own product or service (e.g. "Sovrium Cloud", "Sovrium Plus")
- Imply official endorsement without permission
- Create confusion about the source or origin of a product
- Register similar trademarks or domain names

## Commercial and brand use

Commercial use of the Sovrium **software** requires a commercial license (see [License](/en/docs/license)). Use of the Sovrium **trademark** in commercial contexts requires explicit permission from ESSENTIAL SERVICES.

For trademark licensing inquiries, contact **license@sovrium.com**.

## See also

- [License](/en/docs/license) — the BSL 1.1 terms for the code
- [Contributing](/en/docs/contributing) — how to propose changes