Foxbook is a trademark of Benjamin Bandali.
The protocol and the reference implementation in this repository are licensed
under the Apache License 2.0 (see LICENSE) — anyone can fork,
modify, and run their own deployment that satisfies the same protocol
contracts (RFC-9162-shaped transparency log endpoints;
JSON Schema in schemas/; cross-language test vectors in
schemas/crypto-test-vectors.json).
The trademark is separate. Use of the "Foxbook" name or logo in association with derived implementations, competing services, hosted deployments, or commercial offerings requires written permission. This includes (non-exhaustive):
- Naming a fork or derivative service "Foxbook-X" / "X for Foxbook" / similar in a way that suggests endorsement or origin.
- Marketing a commercial verification service under the Foxbook name.
- Using the Foxbook logo on a website that's not the canonical reference deployment at foxbook.dev.
What's explicitly OK without permission:
- Forking the repo and running your own deployment under a different name. The protocol contracts are the canonical reference; the name is not load-bearing for interop.
- Referring to the Foxbook protocol or this reference implementation by name in documentation, blog posts, academic work, RFCs, or spec discussions (e.g., "we implement the Foxbook x-foxbook v1 extension"). Nominative use is fine and encouraged.
- Distributing the source code, modified or unmodified, under the Apache License 2.0 terms.
Why the trademark is separate from the source license: the protocol's canonicality value comes partly from a single canonical reference deployment (the longest-audit-trail transparency log). Multiple forks under the same trademark dilute that signal. Multiple forks under their own names + interop-with-our-protocol is exactly what we want. The license + trademark split preserves both: maximally permissive code, modestly protected name.
For trademark licensing or clarification questions, contact @cloakmaster via GitHub.