The AGPLv3’s Section 7¶4 gives downstream users the right to strip any “further restriction” a licensor tacks onto the license text. That provision was designed to neutralize “badgeware” – software that ships with mandatory advertising or logo display that cannot be removed. By allowing users to delete the offending clause, the license restores the pure freedoms promised by the AGPL.

During the GPLv2 era, vendors often slipped a contradictory notice into the source: the code carried the GPL text, yet a separate LICENSE file forbade commercial modification. Because GPLv2 only barred downstream parties from adding restrictions, the original author could still impose the ban, leaving users legally stuck. Drafting of GPLv3 introduced the new clause that finally empowered recipients to excise such self‑contradictory terms.

Ascensio System SIA’s Onlyoffice recently exploited the same loophole. The company released the suite under AGPLv3, then appended a term that denied trademark rights while demanding that every redistribution retain the product logo. Because the logo appears throughout the UI, the requirement functions as badgeware. Under AGPLv3§7¶4, anyone can remove that trademark clause and redistribute the code unencumbered, effectively nullifying Ascensio’s restriction.