The ® is a commitment, not a fence.
PowerShift® is protected so the term keeps a clear, enforceable definition. The working governance artifacts stay open so the field can use them.
Why register a term at all?
A word that names a living practice gets diluted quickly. The registration gives the ecosystem a durable center of gravity: people can build with the framework, while the name remains tied to the principles and lineage that make it meaningful.
Protection keeps the term from becoming costume. Open licensing keeps it from becoming enclosure.
What is open, and where it lives
PowerShift® Stack
The governance OS, constitution, primer, and templates are public on GitHub.
Open →Open agreements
encode.org publishes the legal agreements that carry the lineage and operating commitments.
Open →The public primer
A concise porch for newcomers before the deeper offer and implementation surfaces.
Open →Who holds what
encode.org, LLC is the original and current owner of the PowerShift® USPTO mark. PowerShift® Holdings, LLC holds the ecosystem entities that express the framework in practice.
Meet the entities →