Bluesky Takes AT Protocol Trademark to Block Legal Threats

Bluesky has acquired the trademark rights to “ATPROTOCOL” and related variants, including “AT Protocol” and “atproto,” after another company threatened legal action that could have blocked Bluesky and others from using the name.

The company says the move is meant as a defensive measure, not a new revenue stream. In its FAQ, Bluesky says it needs to enforce the mark under U.S. law or risk losing control of it, and that the goal is to protect developers in the atproto ecosystem from bad-faith actors.

For most developers, nothing changes. Bluesky says a license is not required for everyday use cases such as:

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• building projects that refer to the protocol
• saying an app is compatible with atproto, as long as that is accurate
• discussing the protocol in the community
• writing documentation
• naming open-source packages or tools such as atproto-feed-tool or AT Protocol SDK

The company says users should be descriptive, accurate, avoid implying official endorsement, and keep their own brand at least as prominent as the mark.

A license may be needed when the term becomes part of a brand rather than a description. Bluesky says that can include product, company, or service names built around AT Protocol; paid or sponsored events; merchandise; registered domain names; official-sounding certifications; or official use of the AT Protocol logo. It also says impersonation, scams, and presenting an incompatible protocol as atproto are not allowed.

Future ownership plans

For now, the trademark is owned by Bluesky PBC because, the company says, that was the most practical way to acquire it quickly and offer protection. Bluesky says it plans to transfer ownership later to an independent protocol governance organization.

It ruled out the PLC association for that role, saying the group is specifically chartered to steward the directory and that trademark ownership is outside its mission. Bluesky says it modeled its approach on other open-source projects, including Wikimedia, Red Hat, Rust, Python Foundation, Apache, Mozilla, Linux, and Debian.