Page History

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Consequences of Not Acting

Several podlings have had their graduation delayed because companies ignored the ASF branding guidelines. and the project failed to correct the misuse until the end of incubation.

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Early and active management avoids these blockers and shows readiness for TLP status.

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Common Risks

• A vendor markets a product as “Apache Foo Enterprise Edition,” implying endorsement by the ASF.

• A company uses the ASF logo on its own website to promote commercial services.

• Blogs, conference talks, or press describe the podling as “Company X’s project” instead of part of the Apache community.

• The project is labelled as “owned by Company X,” “developed at Company X,” or “the creators of Apache Foo”, creating false impressions of origin or control.

• Only one vendor is visibly associated with commercial use, giving the appearance of private ownership.

• The podling itself fails to use the correct name — “Apache Foobar (incubating)” — in its website, documentation, or releases.

• A single company’s employees dominate governance or communication channels, leading outsiders to assume that the company controls the project.

• Third-party materials (e.g., whitepapers, case studies, commercial training) present the podling as a proprietary product rather than an ASF community project.

• Conference booths, banners, or swag display the podling name or logo without “(incubating)”, or present the project as part of a single vendor’s offerings.

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