Develop a trademark policy and add it to the readme

[alexgleason]

The long and short of this is: anyone can copy GardenHub's source code and do what they want with it. But can they use the GardenHub name and logo?

I think we should develop a policy about how the GardenHub name and logos are intended to be used.

Here are a few possible options:

• The GardenHub name and logo may only be used by HarvestHub.
• The GardenHub name and logo may only be used in ways that HarvestHub approves.
• The GardenHub name and logo may be used by anyone for any purpose.
• The GardenHub name and logo may be used by anyone in certain specific ways that we define.

I don't have a strong feeling towards any one of these options, but I'd like us to make an informed choice and then declare it in our readme.

GardenHub's copyright

The source code of GardenHub is licensed under the GNU AGPL, version 3 or greater. This means that anyone can copy and use the source code for any purpose (including commercially), verbatim or with modifications, with the restriction that they must share any modifications they make under the same license. I think this is great for a web application. We have nothing to lose and everything to gain from this. It makes us much more excited as developers to work on the project, and we feel an intense personal connection to the work that we might not feel otherwise. It's owned by everyone, and as a consequence it's owned by me too. This gives me the desire to craft it into perfection because I partially own it. Basically, I think we're making a great choice regarding this.

Why trademarks are different

Now, trademarks are a different story. Often copyright and trademarks get wrapped up into the term "intellectual property," but I think that phrase is really misinformative. Copyright and trademark are two totally separate theories, with totally different purposes and philosophical backgrounds.

The source code of the program falls under copyright protection. The name of the project and any logos used fall under trademark protection. The purpose of trademark law is to prevent people from deliberately misinforming the public about the origin of certain products and services. So unlike with copyright, I do see a potential tradeoff here, since it could be risky to let anyone use the GardenHub name willy nilly.

What do we want?

Well, in my mind there are two major components of GardenHub.

1. GardenHub, the software, comprised of computer code, that anyone can use, modify, and redistribute.
2. GardenHub, the project by HarvestHub, a Philadelphia-based business that connects people with community gardens.

If GardenHub were the 1st thing, exclusively, I'd say we should let anyone use the name and logo however they'd like.

But because GardenHub is the 2nd thing in addition to the 1st thing, we might want to restrict how people may use the name and logo.

I'm not really sure which we feel more strongly about in terms of the GardenHub identity. In a previous call, Jen said that the HarvestHub/GardenHub identity may be changing. Any news on that? Is GardenHub just a piece of software or is it an organization? I'd love to hear your thoughts.