DuckLake™ Trademark Use Guidelines

The DuckLake trademarks, service marks, and graphical marks (“DuckLake Marks”) are held by the DuckDB Foundation, a Dutch nonprofit entity that oversees the DuckLake project. To protect the community and ensure clarity about what is and isn’t official DuckLake software, we must set clear rules for how the DuckLake Marks are used.

If you plan to reference DuckLake in software, services, documentation, events, or any other materials, these guidelines explain what is allowed. When in doubt, please ask—we are always happy to help.

The DuckLake project is published under the MIT open-source software license. The software license does not grant any permission to use the DuckLake name, logos, or other DuckLake Marks. Trademark rights are governed solely by these guidelines and any separate written trademark agreements with the DuckDB Foundation.

Rationale: Why These Guidelines Exist

The DuckLake Marks stand for the quality, openness, and engineering discipline of the DuckLake project. Because many people and companies build on top of DuckLake, we must ensure that the names and logos are used in a way that does not imply official status, endorsement, or exclusivity. DuckLake is vendor-neutral and community-driven, and the use of our marks must always reflect that.

No Endorsement, No Exclusivity

Use of DuckLake Marks may never suggest that a third-party product or service is “official,” “preferred,” “primary,” “exclusive,” or endorsed by the DuckDB Foundation. This applies equally to cloud platforms, commercial vendors, libraries, extensions, and integrations. In particular, no company or platform may describe itself as “the official DuckLake platform,” “the primary home of DuckLake,” or use similar language that suggests a privileged or exclusive status.

Factual references to DuckLake are welcome, provided they are accurate and do not imply a special relationship. Statements about collaboration, joint work, roadmap influence, or certification always require prior written approval from the DuckDB Foundation.

DuckLake Marks may not be used in any way that disparages the DuckLake project, its contributors, or its community, or that harms the reputation or goodwill associated with the DuckLake Marks.

Avoid Confusion

To keep users confident about what is “DuckLake” and what is not, please follow these rules:

Product and Service Names

You may not use “DuckLake” or “Duck” as the brand name of your product, offering, service, or company, or in a way that makes your name look like an official DuckLake project (for example, “DuckLake Cloud”, “DuckLake Engine”, or “DuckLake Service”).

Descriptive phrases such as “for DuckLake”, “compatible with DuckLake”, or “DuckLake connector for [your product]” are allowed, provided your own brand is primary and it is clear that your offering is independent from the DuckDB Foundation. Derivatives such as “duckling” or similar naming are also not allowed. Acceptable descriptive references include “compatible with DuckLake”, “for DuckLake”, or “powered by DuckLake”, provided they remain subordinate to your own brand name and are used purely to describe compatibility. Names derived from “Duck” (such as “duckling”, “duckhouse”, or similar variations) may not be used for software or services that are associated with, built on, or competing with DuckLake.

Events, books, and merchandise have their own guidelines. Please contact us for details.

Logos and Visual Branding

DuckLake logos cannot be altered, combined with other logos, used for co-branding, or placed in a way that suggests partnership or endorsement. Modified or look-alike “duck” logos are not permitted.

User Interfaces and Cloud Consoles

Any use of DuckLake Marks in dashboards, menus, marketplace listings, or developer consoles requires written approval.

Forks, Extensions and Derivative Software

If you maintain a modified version of DuckLake or an extension, you must clearly distinguish it from the official project and may not label it using DuckLake Marks in a way that suggests official maintenance or oversight.

Domains

Domains or subdomains containing “DuckLake” require permission. If you operate websites, documentation, or demos involving DuckLake, please use your own branding and refer to DuckLake factually.

Attribution

When your materials (web pages, whitepapers, presentations) make significant use of the DuckLake name, we recommend including an attribution such as: “DuckLake is a trademark of the DuckDB Foundation.” This helps keep ownership clear while remaining lightweight for users.

Commercial vendors and service providers offering DuckLake-related products, integrations, or cloud services must apply these guidelines with particular care to ensure their materials cannot be interpreted as official, endorsed, or partnership-branded DuckLake offerings.

When Approval Is Required

Everyday, factual references to DuckLake do not require permission. This includes using “DuckLake” in plain text to describe compatibility, document how to use DuckLake, write blog posts or academic papers, give conference talks, or compare DuckLake with other systems, provided such use is accurate, not misleading, and does not use DuckLake logos or visual branding.

Approval is required for higher-visibility or promotional uses, including:

• press releases or launch announcements
• case studies, customer stories, or testimonials
• any marketing or advertising campaign involving the DuckLake name or logo
• uses of DuckLake Marks alongside another company’s brand, product, or logo

If you are unsure, a quick email to us is usually enough to clarify.

License Scope and Limitations

These guidelines grant limited permission to reference the DuckLake project in accordance with the rules above. This permission is non-exclusive, non-transferable, and non-sublicensable, and may be revoked at any time. It does not grant rights to affiliates, contractors, resellers, or partners unless explicitly approved in writing.

No part of these guidelines grants a right to use DuckLake Marks as part of your own branding, product naming, or promotional activities.

Any broader rights (for example, the right to sublicense DuckLake Marks to third parties, resellers, or marketplace partners) must be granted in a separate written trademark agreement with the DuckDB Foundation. In the absence of such an agreement, no such rights are granted or implied.

Enforcement

The DuckDB Foundation may revoke permission to use the DuckLake Marks if a use is misleading, suggests endorsement or exclusivity, resembles DuckLake branding too closely, or otherwise risks confusion in the community. If we determine that a use of the DuckLake Marks is not compliant with these guidelines, we may ask you to modify, rebrand, or remove the relevant materials, and we may revoke permission to use the DuckLake Marks if the issue is not resolved. While we prefer cooperation, we will enforce these guidelines where needed to protect users and the integrity of the project.

Questions? Need Permission?

We aim to be a helpful and responsive steward of the DuckLake project. If you have a question or would like approval for a specific use case, please contact us at: [email protected]. We are happy to review materials and provide quick guidance.