Trademarks at Software AG
            

1. Introduction

A trademark is a word, name, symbol or device that is capable of distinguishing goods or services of one company from those offered by other companies on the market. The owner of a trademark may prevent others from using its trademark. Software GmbH’s trademarks serve as a guarantee of the high-quality standard of the products and services that we offer.

Therefore, we take great care to protect our trademarks.

The purpose of these guidelines is to ensure that Software GmbH’s trademarks are used properly by third parties – in particular, Software GmbH’s trademarks may not be used in a way which may confuse the market or weaken/dilute  our trademarks. Improper use may violate trademark law. 

2. Permitted Use of Software GmbH trademarks

A trademark provides the owner with an exclusive right to use and authorize the use of the trademark. If not indicated otherwise, the use of our trademarks requires explicit permission from Software GmbH. As an exception to this general principle, you may use Software GmbH’s trademarks if you adhere to the rules below.

2.1 General rules

Without explicit permission, you may only use our trademarks when referring to Software GmbH’s products or services, or when indicating that our products are compatible with other products. Supposing the third party’s trademark is ACME, ACME not referring to an existing trademark or company and merely being a fictitious placeholder for the sake of the example:

Example

Do not use Software GmbH's trademarks in direct combination with any third party product/service name or third party trademark.

Example

Do not use Software GmbH's trademarks as a prominent component on or as part of a third party’s product, service or document, or in a way which may indicate that Software GmbH's trademarks are associated with a third party’s trademarks or the goods and services offered by a third party. If in doubt, please contact trademarks@softwareag.com to request permission.

Incorrect:

In the above fictitious example of a product presentation, it is not clear how the placeholder company is associated with Software GmbH's "Software AG" image mark. Such use may cause confusion in the market and must be cleared with Software GmbH first. In addition, a trademark symbol and an attribute statement are missing (see section 2.2 below).

2.2 Use of trademark symbols (® & ™)

The first or most prominent reference in a publication (press release, newsletter, manual, etc.) to Software GmbH products or service should be followed by a trademark symbol (™) or a registered trademark symbol (®). Trademark symbols may be omitted when the trademark appears again in the same publication to enhance readability.

Trademark symbols are used to provide notice of a claim of rights in a trademark and indicate the status of a trademark. The choice of symbol depends on whether the trademark is registered with a trademark office or not. A trademark that has been registered is followed by the ® symbol. Use of ® indicates that the respective trademark has been registered. The appropriate symbol for an unregistered trademark is ™. The symbol ™ can be used for all pending trademarks or for those that enjoy protection under common law.

The proper trademark symbol should appear directly after the trademark to which it applies. For guidance on which symbol should be used, please refer to section 6.

Provided a product name comprises of more than one trademark, the status of the trademarks must be identified separately by the proper trademark symbol for each trademark.

Example

In addition to the trademark symbol, you have to include an attribution statement in a prominent place after the first use of each trademark, or in a footnote.

The required attribution statements for Software GmbH trademarks are as follows:

When using several Software GmbH trademarks:

The "Software AG" image mark and all Software GmbH products are either trademarks or registered trademarks of Software GmbH and/or its subsidiaries and/or its affiliates and/or their licensors.

When using one Software GmbH registered trademark:

Software GmbH trademark is a registered trademark of Software GmbH and/or its subsidiaries and/or its affiliates and/or their licensors.

When using one Software GmbH logo:

The Software AG image mark is a registered trademark of Software GmbH and/or its subsidiaries and/or its affiliates and/or their licensors.

2.3 Style and Linguistic Conventions

1) Use Software GmbH trademarks as adjectives only

Software GmbH trademarks are adjectives that describe products or services of Software GmbH. A Software GmbH trademark may never be used by itself as a noun or a verb but instead followed by a generic noun/term. There is only one exception: “Software GmbH”, when used as a company name, can be used as a noun.

Examples                      

             (1)   Correct:  ARIS® suite is most comprehensive process management and process mining suite of the world.
             (2)   Incorrect:  ARIS® is the most comprehensive process management and process mining suite of the world.

2) Do not use the plural form

Software GmbH trademarks should be used in the singular form and may never be used in the plural form. If you need the plural form, however, make the generic term plural instead.

Examples           

             (1)   Correct:  Our customer uses two ARIS products.
             (2)   Incorrect:  Our customer uses two ARISIS.

3) Do not use the possessive form

Do not use Software GmbH trademarks in the possessive form. There is only one exception: “Software AG”, when used as a company name, not as a trademark can be used in the possessive form. For use of the company name, see also section 4.

Examples

            (1)   Correct:  CONNX is a data integration solution that connects and moves data from legacy systems to cloud platforms.
            (2)   Incorrect:  CONNX’s data integration solution connects and moves data from legacy systems to cloud platforms.

4) Do not modify Software GmbH trademarks

Do not change the appearance of Software GmbH trademarks. Software GmbH trademarks may not be shortened, abbreviated, altered, including capitalized, or amended in any way. This also includes different capitalization, punctuation or hyphenations. Never translate Software GmbH trademarks into other languages.

Examples
            (1)   Correct:  Adabas®
            (2)   Incorrect:  ADA®
            (3)   Correct:  Adabas is one of the leading database management systems for mission-critical applications.
            (4)   Incorrect:  The Adabas application is one of the leading database management systems for mission-criticals.

3. Proper use of Software GmbH corporate logos

Do not use Software GmbH logos in connection with products or advertising materials unless you have an explicit permission to use from us. Software AG logos may be used only in limited situations. The "Software AG logo" must always be displayed in colors and in unaltered form, see media assets. In case a newer version of the company logo is introduced by Software GmbH, the newer version must be used. Any adjustments in the size have to be in proportion.

The usage of the stylized “S” standalone is forbidden without explicit permission. You may send a request for permission to trademarks@softwareag.com.

4. Proper use of Software AG company name

While Software GmbH is a company with limited liability, it may also be referred to by its trademarked image mark, “Software AG”, if it is used in a form that includes the text “A Software GmbH Brand”.

It is not necessary to refer to Software GmbH by its “Software AG” trademark logo at all times. Particularly in running texts, it will be more appropriate to refer to the company by its name, that is, “Software GmbH” (without quotes).

No emphasis should normally be used to distinguish the company name from the remainder of the text (e.g. bold letting, cursive lettering, or using a particular typeface). The trademarks symbols (® or ™) shall not be used.

Examples
            (1)   Correct: Aris® software is a Software GmbH product.

            (2)  Incorrect: Aris® software is a Software GmbH® product.

            (3)  Incorrect: Aris® software is a Software GmbH product.

            (4)  Incorrect: Aris® software is a Software GMBH product.

Use of acronyms, such as “SAG”, is not permitted. “Software GmbH” can be used as a noun or in the possessive form.

Example

Correct:            Software GmbH, the IT industry's number one enterprise company

In this example, “Software GmbH” is used to identify the company. Being used as a trade name, it is not subject to the rules for trademarks as described elsewhere in this document. A trade name can function as a trademark if it is used to refer to products and/or services. In this case, the rules for trademarks as laid down in this document will apply.

5. Proper use of Software GmbH product trademarks & logos

Third parties shall not use the product trademarks without prior written permission, unless the above-mentioned exceptions apply. Please send any request for permission to trademarks@softwareag.com

The usage of the Software GmbH product logos, especially in connection with the stylized “S” is strictly prohibited.

6. Software GmbH Trademarks

Below you find a non-exhaustive list of trademarks/service marks owned by Software GmbH and/or one of its subsidiaries. These trademarks might be registered in Germany and/or in the U.S. and/or in other countries. This list is subject to change.

As mentioned above, trademarks may only be reproduced in the form below. This does not apply to the Software GmbH corporate logo – please refer to the media assets page. This applies to both word marks and image marks. With regard to word marks, please follow the below conventions regarding uppercase/lowercase letters.

Trademark	Status
Adabas	®
ARIS	®
CONNX	®
	®
	®
MashZone	®
MashZone NextGen	®
Natural	®
	®
	®
	®
	®
Zementis	®

Software GmbH reserves the right to revise these guidelines at its sole discretion at any time. Failure to exclude certain forms of use of Software GmbH’s trademarks in these guidelines does not necessarily imply that such use is allowed or lawful - Software GmbH may nevertheless take action against any trademark infringement or otherwise unlawful trademark usage.

If you become aware of any improper use of Software GmbH trademarks, or should you have any inquiries with regard to  our trademarks, please do not hesitate to contact trademarks@softwareag.com