The Blender logo is a copyrighted property of NaN Holding B.V, and has been licensed in 2002 to the Blender Foundation. The logo and the brand name "Blender" are not part of the GNU GPL, and can only be used commercially by the Blender Foundation on products, websites and publications.

Under the following conditions third parties (persons, companies) can use the Blender logo as well:

1. The logo can only be used to point to the product Blender. When used with a link on a web page, it should point to the url http://www.blender.org.
2. You will visualize and promote your own branding more prominent than you use the Blender logo. The Blender logo only can be used as a secondary brand, which means it has to be clear for an average viewer that this is not an official Blender or Blender Foundation website, publication or product.
3. You can use the Blender logo on promotion products, such as T-shirts or caps or trade show booths, provided it is a secondary brand as described in point 2.
4. The logo is used unaltered, without fancy enhancements, in original colors, original typography, and always complete (logo + text blender).
5. In case you use the logo on products you sell commercially, you always have to contact us with a picture of how it will be used, and ask for explicit permission.

In any case you have doubts, just contact us for further advice!

Blender's logo has been used in 100s of ways, in artwork, as smileys, as part of other logos in headers of community websites. This was - and still is - considered to be an honest tribute to Blender, and the guidelines are not meant to make all these versions "illegal" or "officially disapproved".

This page is only meant to clarify the official Blender Foundation guidelines, so people know what their minimum rights are how and when to use the logo. 

Making fun and cool versions of the Blender logo is really part your own artistic freedom, and Blender Foundation will never act against such tributes. Just don't expect us to "officially approve" it, that's all. :)

Thanks,

Amsterdam, March 2009
Ton Roosendaal, Chairman Blender Foundation