While the VuFind® software is free and open source, its name is a registered trademark. This is designed to protect the integrity of the project by preventing its name from being used in misleading ways. It also helps to defend against scenarios where the project is forced by a third party to undergo a time-consuming and expensive name change.

The Trademarks in Open Source article from Google Open Source provides some helpful reading on the interplay between trademarks and open source.