You are free to interpret this comment as prohibition or as my blessing, but...

If it matters, ask your lawyer.

If it doesn't matter, it doesn't matter.

Or to put it another way, trademarks (you've mentioned two) and copyrights (it's a crapshoot) are complex. And in some jurisdictions (notably the US) anybody can sue anyone for anything.

Your risk aversion is yours, not someone else's. Your financial and legal wherewithal is likewise yours.

▲

jmpman 20 hours ago | parent [-]

I might just email the company. If they object, I won't make my GitHub repo public.

	▲	ungreased0675 an hour ago \| parent \| next [-]
		This seems like the worst possible advice. It will only bring negative attention and maybe legal repercussions.
	▲	brudgers 9 hours ago \| parent \| prev \| next [-]
		They might object to the existence of the software and demand “its destruction.” Or sue your ass…or file a DCMA takedown with Github. Or all of the above. The best likely outcome is probably “no.” Because they have lawyers and that’s what lawyers do. If you really really want to share the information, you might write a blog post with technical details without linking to any code. Sharing the blog to the “Facebook group” will let you assess community and corporate interest and make an informed decision. Keep in mind that they could say yes and still do all that bad stuff anyway.
	▲	georgemcbay 5 minutes ago \| parent \| prev [-]
		> I might just email the company. If they object, I won't make my GitHub repo public. If you do this, I can nearly guarantee they will either never respond as a best case scenario, or they will object. There is effectively zero chance a company would give you any indication that you have their blessing. Even if they don't actually care one way or another they will make the assumption that giving you any kind of positive response is nothing but a negative for themselves in terms of future liability, etc The phrase that it is "better to ask for forgiveness than permission" exists because of situations like the one you're in. Just publish the repo. Don't contact them. If they C&D you, take it down if you don't want to deal with the legal repercussions.