Bluesky recently acquired trademark rights for “ATPROTOCOL,” “AT Protocol,” and “atproto” from a company threatening legal action, enabling the atproto community to use the mark freely. This defensive move shields developers from having their work undone by trademark abuse.

Bluesky’s legal team created an FAQ clarifying that most everyday use—referencing the protocol, building compatible apps, writing docs, or naming open-source tools—requires no license. Licensing fees apply only if a commercial enterprise uses the mark for profit in branding or products.

A license is needed when the mark becomes a brand: product names, paid events, merchandise, domains, or official certifications. “Good faith” means letting existing developers build the ecosystem while preventing impersonation.

The trademark is held by Bluesky PBC for practicality, with plans to transfer ownership to an independent protocol governance organization. The PLC Association, which stewards the directory, isn’t suited for trademark stewardship. Bluesky cites Wikimedia, Red Hat, Rust, Python Foundation, Apache, Mozilla, Linux, and Debian as inspirations for this open-source trademark approach.