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. 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. Doing so would cause confusion among the customers who purchase those products, because they may believe they are purchasing a product emanating from Red Hat, Inc. but in reality, it is a product of another company altogether. To address this issue, we have developed the following guidelines for the use of our trademarks.
Additional guidelines follow below.
Inc. It may not be used on any products other than those offered by Red Hat, Inc. or those licensed by Red Hat under a written agreement signed by Red Hat. Absolutely no exceptions. Those changes may include making modifications to certain portions of the software, adding new components that were not included by Red Hat, or removing components that were included by Red Hat. Once you have made changes to it, it is no longer the same as the original, and as a result, it is inappropriate to name it or brand it as though it is. We encourage you to take full advantage of your rights under the licenses with respect to the software.