The AXL™ Trademark Policy.

§ 1The marks at issue

1.1 The wordmark — AXL

AXL is used as a wordmark by Cadence and is intended to be filed as a standard-character mark in Class 9 (downloadable software) and Class 42 (SaaS / technology services) in the United States, subject to clearance and counsel review. International filings are intended to follow. Cadence intends to license the wordmark to axlspec.org for use in connection with the specification, the certification program, and the AXL™ certification mark.

1.2 The certification mark — AXL™

AXL™ is intended to be filed as a certification mark by axlspec.org pursuant to § 1054 of the U.S. Lanham Act. Once registered, it will be used by third-party vendors to indicate that their products have been verified to conform to the AXL Reference at a defined level. The mark is not a Cadence asset; review and licensing of the mark will be conducted symmetrically by axlspec.org, regardless of any commercial relationship between an applicant and Cadence.

1.3 The longform — “Agentic Experience Layer”

The longform “Agentic Experience Layer” is treated as a descriptive category phrase. It is not registered as a trademark, is not owned by any party, and is free for any vendor, analyst, journalist, or buyer to use without permission.

§ 2Acceptable use — descriptive references

Anyone — including non-conformant vendors, analysts, journalists, and the public — may:

• Refer to “the AXL Reference” or “the AXL specification” in a descriptive sense.
• Refer to “the Agentic Experience Layer” or “AXL” as a category name.
• Quote, link, and cite the specification under its CC BY 4.0 license.
• State accurately the conformance level (if any) of a vendor's self-published Conformance Statement.

§ 3Restricted use — certification mark

The AXL™ certification mark (with the trademark symbol or in branded contexts that imply certification) may be used only by vendors who have received a current, valid certification from axlspec.org. Specifically:

• Permitted: AXL™ Certified — Production (L2) — v1.0, on a certified product, while the certification is current.
• Permitted: an AXL™ badge on a vendor's trust page, linking to the reviewer report at axlspec.org/certified/[vendor].
• Not permitted: use of “AXL Certified” or the badge by a vendor with no current verified certification.
• Not permitted: use of the mark on a different product, a different version, or a different SKU than the certified one.
• Not permitted: implying axlspec.org endorsement of the vendor's commercial offering.

§ 4Cure period and enforcement

Where the editorial board observes use of the AXL™ mark inconsistent with §3, axlspec.org will issue a written notice describing the inconsistency. The licensee has 30 days to cure. Bad-faith or repeated violations may result in certification revocation and a public record of the revocation on axlspec.org/certified.

§ 5Self-attestation language

Vendors who have published a Conformance Statement at L1 or L2 but who have not yet received verified L3 certification may describe themselves accurately. Permitted forms include:

• “Conformant to AXL v1.0 at L1 (self-attested)”
• “AXL-conformant L2 (self-attested) — see Conformance Statement”

Not permitted: dropping “self-attested,” or applying the AXL™ symbol absent verified certification.

§ 6Cadence's use of the wordmark

As wordmark owner, Cadence is free to use “AXL” in product, marketing, and sales contexts. Under §1054 of the Lanham Act, Cadence does not use the certification mark on its own goods; Cadence applies for L3 certification symmetrically and uses the AXL™ mark only after issuance.

§ 7Contact

Trademark questions, mark-use clarifications, and notices may be sent to trademark@axlspec.org. The editorial board responds within 10 business days for standard inquiries.