Our approach to IP is detailed in the Rust Foundation Intellectual Property Policy – please also read this.
When a project joins the Rust Innovation Lab, we require any trademarks and brand assets (e.g. logo) to be transferred to the Rust Foundation, and will work with you to achieve this as part of the onboarding process.
The Rust Foundation works with specialist IP counsel and can help you to register new trademarks. The costs associated with this will be paid from your project’s funding.
- U.S. Single Trademark Registration – $1200 USD
- Covers a single trademark (name or logo) in one category (class)
- Adding an extra category: +$350
- Non-U.S. Trademark Registration: Varies depending on the application and country. Please discuss with us.
A trademark does not prevent someone from forking your project’s code, or restrict the open source license. It protects the project’s name and logo from misuse, ensuring that only authentic versions are permitted to use the official branding. Without a trademark, anyone could distribute altered or malicious versions under the same name, potentially harming the reputation and credibility of your project.