The Go trademark and the Go Logo () – collectively, the “Go Trademarks” – are trademarks of Google and are treated separately from the copyright license grants contained in the BSD-licensed Go repositories, as described below.
The Go Gopher mascot was created by Renee French and is licensed under the Creative Commons 4.0 Attribution License.
Any use of the Go Trademarks other than those permitted in these guidelines must be approved in advance.
In general, we want the word mark “Go” and the Go Logo to be used freely to refer to the Go programming language.
We do not want these trademarks to be used:
These guidelines exist to ensure that the Go programming language can continue to share its releases under open source licenses while making sure that the Go Trademarks are protected as meaningful source identifiers in a way that’s consistent with trademark law.
In order to accurately identify the Go programming language or any compatible applications, it may be necessary to refer to the language by name (“nominative fair use”). These are the basic rules for nominative fair use of the Go Trademarks:
Nominative or descriptive uses in fair use may arise in an educational context or in books or blogs about the Go programming language and any derivative works.
The Go Trademarks can generally be retained in unaltered versions of the Go open source programming language (that is, an unmodified fork). This use must follow the “Naming Conventions for Authorized Uses” and may not inaccurately suggest affiliation or endorsement or mislead as to the source.
Substantially unmodified distributions may use the Go Trademarks if the derivative work complies with the terms of the Go programming language’s open source license and is made in a good faith attempt to replicate the quality and substance of the original project.
Examples of modifications that would be considered substantially unmodified include language translation and localization, bug and security patches, and necessary interoperability/compatibility modifications.
The Go Trademarks may be used in connection with such substantially unmodified distributions following the “Naming Conventions for Authorized Uses”.
Substantially modified distributions require review and approval from trademark@golang.org before the Go Trademarks can be used.
Substantially modified distributions may include explicit changes to functionality, interfaces, or features.
If the substantially modified distribution is approved, the Go Trademarks may be used in connection with such substantially unmodified distributions following the “Naming Conventions for Authorized Uses”.
Modifications that disparage the Go programming language or its reputation without qualifying as fair use, such as the introduction of malicious code, are not compatible with use of the Go Trademarks.
The Go word mark may be used referentially in events, community groups, or other gatherings related to the programming language, but it may not be used in a manner that implies official status or endorsement.
The Go Logo may not be used with events, community groups, or other gatherings related to the programming language without permission.
Events and community groups must follow the “Naming Conventions for Authorized Uses”.
Events and community groups may be subject to the Go programming language’s Code of Conduct, and violations of the Code of Conduct may be deemed incompatible with use of the Go Trademarks.
The Go Trademarks may be used to produce swag such as t-shirts, pens, stickers, or hats for both commercial and non-commercial purposes in accordance with the “Naming Conventions for Authorized Uses” and “Use of the Go Logo”.
Swag should never be advertised as “official” swag or swag endorsed for use or purchase by the Go programming language project.
There are no other restrictions on generating revenue through swag that use the Go Trademarks. However, we encourage sellers to consider the ethos of the open source movement in this decision. Sellers must truthfully advertise to consumers how much of the selling price, if any, will be donated to open source or community efforts.
The Go Trademarks should not be used, in whole or part, as or within any domain names and social media account names or handles in a manner that implies official status or endorsement.
The Go Trademarks may not be used as or combined with all or part of a company name, trade name, product name, or feature name in a manner that implies official status or endorsement.
Once a particular use falls within an Authorized Use category as outlined in “Use of the Go Trademarks”, the Go Trademarks can be used subject to the following Naming Conventions. These Naming Conventions seek to avoid implying sponsorship, approval, or endorsement, which may result in confusion as to the source of the underlying goods or services.
Naming Conventions that disparage the Go programming language, if not permitted as fair use, are unauthorized. For example, the following are unauthorized Naming Conventions:
Any Naming Convention not following the “Authorized Naming Conventions” or “Unauthorized Naming Conventions” require review for approval from trademark@golang.org.
In addition to the applicable rules outlined above applying to the Go word mark, the following rules apply to the use of the Go Logo ().
The Go Logo may never be used in a way:
The Go Logo may not be used in the following manners without review and approval:
Please use the provided brand assets and further guidance for the Go Logo and the Gopher mascot as outlined in “Go's New Brand”.
Authorization to use the Go Trademarks cannot be inherited through project dependencies; every use of the Go Trademarks must comply with the applicable guidelines or have explicit prior written permission.
Authorized Users under these Guidelines may not authorize any third-party use and may not transfer or sublicense any of the user’s authorizations or permissions to use the Go Trademarks.
Authorized users under these Guidelines may not enforce the Go Trademarks but should notify trademark@golang.org of any suspected, alleged, or actual misuse, misappropriation, infringement, or other violation of the Go Trademarks.
These Trademark Guidelines are version 1.0 and may be followed by subsequent versions. These Guidelines may be edited for clarity; the major version will be increased when changes introduce new requirements, define new criteria, or otherwise present a backwards incompatible change.
Please do not hesitate to contact us at trademark@golang.org if you are unsure whether your intended use of the Go Trademarks is in compliance with these guidelines, or to ask for permission to use the Go Trademarks, clearly describing the intended usage and duration. Thank you.