PAD® Rights, Requirements and Usage Guidelines
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| © 2017 Association of Software Professionals, https://www.asp-software.org |
| Revision Date: 13, June 2017 |
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| With the recent announcement and availability of PAD® Specification v4.0, we have made an effort to inform software application publishers, software web portals/distribution sites, and third-party service providers using the term “PAD” that “PAD” is a worldwide trademark and certification mark (the “PAD Mark”) of the Association of Software Professionals (“ASP”). |
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A certification mark permits an organization to protect and secure who, what, and how any third party uses the PAD®Mark, as well as the PAD ® specification, standard, and guidelines including in their site name, company name, product name and much more.
( For reference, see https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Certification_mark. ) |
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| 1. What is PAD®? |
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| The term “PAD” refers to “Portable Application Description” that was originally developed by the ASP in late 1998. It was designed as an open standard for both software publishers of downloadable applications and “software” content websites to both simplify and qualify a method of standardizing content for publishers and publishing of such software information on websites. In addition, “PAD” has also formally referred to a series of ASP software tools, application programming interfaces, and published technical information to support the latest version of the publicly-available specification, guidelines and standards. (“Standards”). |
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| The term “PAD” is a certification mark (“PAD Mark”) because ASP certifies third parties, both commercial and non-commercial entities, that are permitted to use the PAD Mark if they meet the ASP’s guidelines (“Guidelines”). |
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| PAD® Guidelines always available on the ASP website, https://www.asp-software.org/pad-guidelines.html and the AppVisor.com website. Only persons and organizations that sign license agreements with either the ASP, or its official agent, and agree to the PAD®Guidelines (“Licensees”) may obtain the ASP’s authorization to use the PAD® Mark on their goods and services (each, a “Certified Product”). |
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| Use of the PAD® Mark when authorized by ASP certifies that the Licensee’s product, service or site conform to the latest published Standards and/or Guidelines determined by the ASP regarding the distribution of computer software programs through PAD-supported methods and PAD-supported distribution channels, services and sites. |
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| The PAD® Mark is one of several trademarks and service marks listed at the end of these Guidelines (the “ASP Marks”) owned and controlled by the ASP. Most of these Guidelines apply to both the PAD Mark and the other ASP Marks. Any and all use of the PAD Mark and the other ASP Marks, and the goodwill generated thereby, shall be for the benefit of the Association of Software Professionals and its authorized agent. |
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| 2. Qualifications. A potential Licensee must satisfy the following requirements in order to use the PAD® Mark: |
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- (a) A Licensee may be a member in good standing of the ASP, but membership is not required.
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- (b) Licensee must conform to the latest PAD® Standard (Specification and/or associated Guidelines) for each individual good or service, if it wants to use the PAD® standard in their business. Licensee must agree to update its products, service or sites to use the latest version of the PAD Specification. The latest PAD® Specification and Guidelines is always available and documented on the PAD sujpported website at https://www.appvisor.com. Failure to formally committing to and utilizing the latest version of the PAD® Specification and PAD® Guidelines may result in immediate termination of Licensee’s use of the PAD Specification by the ASP’s PAD Committee.
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- (c) Licensee may be required to sign the ASP’s or ASP Agent’s PAD® Mark License Agreement Terms, as determined for sites, service providers, or publisher of digital goods.
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- (d) Licensee must comply with all PAD Mark certification requirements, as described in the then-current version of the Specification and these Guidelines.
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- (e) By subjecting a product, service, or technology to certification or using the PAD Mark as permitted by the ASP and/or its agent, the Licensee acknowledges and agrees that the ASP owns all rights in and to the PAD Mark and the Licensee covenants it will not challenge ASP’s ownership of the PAD Mark, the Standards or these Guidelines.
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- (f) The ASP, including its agent, has the full authority to set standards for the PAD Mark, Specification, Standards and these Guidelines.
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- (g) Any “PAD” reference should include both an acknowledgement of the PAD Mark by the ASP and a direct link back to the ASP’s PAD Mark website at https://www.appvisor.com website.
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| 3. How to Use the PAD Mark and the Other ASP Marks. |
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- (a) The PAD Mark may only be used on Certified Products by a Licensee who at that time has signed the PAD Mark License Agreement, is in good standing with the ASP, and is complying with all provisions of the PAD Mark License Agreement, the PAD Specification, Standards and Guidelines.
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- (b) The ASP Marks other than the PAD Mark may only be used by a Licensee of the PAD Mark in good standing and only on Certified Products or Services as further stated in published Guidelines on the ASP’s website.
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- (c) The Licensee must present the PAD Mark or any other ASP Mark in a manner in which it stands alone. Any modification will require approval by either the ASP Pad Committee or the ASP’s Agent of the PAD platform.
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- (d) The correct form of the PAD Mark is “PAD” in all caps and without periods. As noted below, the circle-R symbol (“®”) may be used once per Certified Product, or the phrase, “PAD is a registered certification mark of the Association of Software Professionals”. A PAD File includes a field called “Master_PAD_Info field that must contain “Portable Application Description, or PAD® 2013 Association of Software Professionals (ASP) https://www.asp-software.org/ is a data set standard and specification that commercial software publishers use to disseminate certified information about their software application. The PAD® format is copyright of the ASP and cannot be used without the formal licensing and permission of both the Association of Software Professionals and its agent.” The term “Association of Software Professionals Certified” may also be used with the PAD® Mark.
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- (e) The Licensee may be required to place the PAD Mark (i) directly on the Certified Product; and (ii) on product packaging, tags, and user manuals with which the Certified Product is distributed, published, or packaged; and (iii) on web pages or other online resources that describe the Certified Products; and (iv) on web pages or other resources from which the Certified Products may be downloaded or otherwise obtained.
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- (f) When the Licensee is using the PAD Mark or any other ASP Mark multiple times within a piece of written material, the Licensee should use the circle-R symbol (“®”) with the first and most prominent usage of the PAD Mark or other ASP Mark, and again in the first appearance in the text body. Wherever possible, the circle-R symbol should be superscripted. Once the Licensee provides proper notice in this manner, it is not necessary to mark subsequent appearances of the PAD Mark or any other ASP Mark in the same material. Any written attribution should include the PAD Mark and all other ASP Marks appearing in that particular piece or on that Certified Product or Service. Footnotes should always be complete sentences, and ordinarily appear on the copyright page, on the last page of the material, or on packaging.
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- (g) If a Certified Service is bundled with another service, the usage must clearly identify which product is the Certified Product or Service.
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- (h) The PAD Mark and every other ASP Mark is an adjective and the Licensee must always use it in that manner and not, for example, as a verb or noun either in its base form or in the possessive or plural forms. Usage must always include a “product or service descriptor” (i.e. a noun) that follows the mark or is implied. Examples: “[XYZ Company] manufactures PAD-compliant software as certified by the Association of Software Professionals.” “This software is certified as complying with the PAD Standard of the Association of Software Professionals.”
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- (i) When using the PAD Mark or any other ASP Mark in publications, services or sites that will be distributed only in the United States, include the circle-R (“®”) symbol on the first use.
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- (j) The correct placement of the circle-R (“®”) character for the PAD Mark is directly adjacent to it. The Licensee must place the circle-R character notice directly to the right of the term “PAD”. The upper right corner of the PAD Mark is the preferred notice location for that mark.
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- (k) For publications. Sites or Services that will be distributed outside the United States, do not include the circle-R or other trademark symbols. Instead use the appropriate trademark attribution notice, for example: “PAD is a trademark of the Association of Software Professionals, registered in the U.S.A. and other countries.”
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- (l) The Licensee may use the typographical font of its choosing to represent the PAD Mark so long as it is clearly legible. The Licensee may include an Association of Software Professionals-approved translation of the designation provided that it also includes the standard English designation described on https://pad.asp-software.org.
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| 4. How Not to Use the PAD Mark or the Other ASP Marks. |
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- (a) The Licensee may not combine the PAD Mark or any other ASP Mark with or incorporate it into other words, phrases, or designs, without approval of the ASP or its PAD Agent.
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- (b) The Licensee may not alter or otherwise distort the PAD Mark or any other ASP Mark in perspective or appearance, without written approval of the ASP or its PAD Agent.
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- (c) Without the ASP’s or Agent’s prior written permission, no Licensee may translate the PAD Mark or any other ASP Mark into other languages, even if the Licensee is using the PAD Mark or any other ASP Mark in countries outside of the United States, without permission of the ASP or its Agent.
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- (d) The Licensee may not use “PAD Repository”, “PAD Database”, “PAD Archive”, “PAD Validator”, “PAD Submission Service” or similar terms containing the PAD Mark. Anyone claiming to have a “PAD” Validator” should cease and desist from promoting a service, unless approved in advance and in writing by the ASP or Agent.
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- (e) Without the ASP’s or Agent’s prior written permission, no one may collect PAD files for resale or redistribution purposes, under any condition, without approval of the ASP or its official PAD Agent.
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- (f) Without the ASP’s or Agent’s prior written permission, no one may use the PAD Mark or any other ASP Mark in their business or organization names, domain names, URLs/URIs, or other identifiers. Permission may only be granted by either the ASP or its Agent.
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- (d) Any failure by the ASP to take legal, equitable or other actions against any violators of the ASP’s rights in the PAD Marks or any other ASP Marks shall not be construed to be a waiver by the ASP of any such rights. The ASP and its Agent of the PAD Certified Mark, expressly reserves all rights in the PAD Mark and the other ASP Marks.
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- (e) The Licensee or other person will reimburse the Association of Software Professionals or its Agent for any and all costs, fees, expenses, and damages that the Association of Software Professionals or Agent incurs should it be required to take legal or administrative action to terminate or correct noncompliance.
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- (f) These Guidelines are governed by the law of the State of Indiana and the federal law of the United States of America, without reference to principles of conflicts of laws.
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- (g) The parties hereby consent service of process upon them either personally or by certified or registered mail, postage prepaid, return receipt requested. Service of process made by certified or registered mail as herein provided shall be deemed complete ten (10) business days after the mailing thereof.
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- (h) Any controversy or claim between the parties or arising out of this Agreement or its performance shall be determined by one arbitrator in binding arbitration administered by the American Arbitration Association pursuant to its Commercial Arbitration Rules and the Optional Rules for Emergency Measures of Protection. The arbitration will be based on the submission of documents and there shall be no in-person or oral hearing. The arbitral award will be final and binding, and may be entered and enforced in any court of competent jurisdiction.
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| 5. Enforcement. If the Association of Software Professionals or its official Agent becomes aware of violations of these Guidelines, it may take any of the following actions: |
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- (a) It may choose to contact the Licensee or other person in writing, by email, by telephone, or by other means.
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- (b) It may provide the Licensee, individual or third-party company with a reasonable amount of time, as the ASP or Authorized Agent may determine in its sole discretion, to correct any noncompliance.
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- (c) If the Licensee , individual or third party company fails to correct the noncompliance, the Association of Software Professionals may suspend or terminate the membership of any Member; The Association of Software Professionals may terminate the license with a Licensee and/or bring legal action, as the Association of Software Professionals considers to be appropriate under the circumstances in its sole discretion. The Agent of the Association of the Software Professionals may also have the right to determine noncompliance and bring legal action under the circumstances in its sole discretion.
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- (d) Any failure by the ASP to take legal, equitable or other actions against any violators of the ASP’s rights in the PAD Marks or any other ASP Marks shall not be construed to be a waiver by the ASP of any such rights. The ASP and its Agent of the PAD Certified Mark, expressly reserves all rights in the PAD Mark and the other ASP Marks.
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- (e) The Licensee or other person will reimburse the Association of Software Professionals or its Agent for any and all costs, fees, expenses, and damages that the Association of Software Professionals or Agent incurs should it be required to take legal or administrative action to terminate or correct noncompliance.
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- (f) These Guidelines are governed by the law of the State of Indiana and the federal law of the United States of America, without reference to principles of conflicts of laws.
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- (g) The parties hereby consent service of process upon them either personally or by certified or registered mail, postage prepaid, return receipt requested. Service of process made by certified or registered mail as herein provided shall be deemed complete ten (10) business days after the mailing thereof.
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- (h) Any controversy or claim between the parties or arising out of this Agreement or its performance shall be determined by one arbitrator in binding arbitration administered by the American Arbitration Association pursuant to its Commercial Arbitration Rules and the Optional Rules for Emergency Measures of Protection. The arbitration will be based on the submission of documents and there shall be no in-person or oral hearing. The arbitral award will be final and binding, and may be entered and enforced in any court of competent jurisdiction.
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| 6. The PAD Mark and Registrations. The PAD Mark consists of all uses of the term PAD in connection with software, as well as the following registrations in the United States: |
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- — “PAD” for computer software. U.S. No. 3,097,136 issued 30 May 2006.
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- — “PAD” for online non-downloadable computer software. U.S. No. 3,190,478 issued 2 January 2007.
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| 7. The ASP Marks and Registrations. The ASP Marks other than the PAD Mark consists of the following terms, as well as the following registrations in the United States: |
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- — “PADGEN” for computer software programs and manuals sold as a unit for use in creating and editing computer program files for the description and specification of computer software products. U.S. No. 3,094,700 issued 23 May 2006.
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- — “PADKIT” for computer software programs and manuals sold as a unit for use in loading computer program files providing descriptions and specifications of computer software products into computer programs and websites. U.S. No. 3,094,699 issued 23 May 2006.
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- — “ASP” for association services. U.S. No. 3,094,701 issued 23 May 2006.
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- — “ASP ASSOCIATION OF SHAREWARE PROFESSIONALS” for association services. U.S. No. 3,681,837 issued 15 September 2009.
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- — “ASP” and Design for association services. U.S. Registration No. 3,860,544 issued 12 October 2010.
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- — “ASPECTS” and Design for newsletters. U.S. No. 3,022,732 issued 6 December 2005.
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| 8. Contact Information. If you have any questions, comments or inquiries regarding the PAD Mark or these Guidelines, please contact the ASP PAD Chair through the following URL: MAILTO:[email protected] |
