On 09/22/04 01:57:40, Hendrik Brummermann wrote:
there is a discussion in the German Wikipedia whether the Debian Open Use Logo <http://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bild:Debian_logo.png> may be subjected to the GFDL.
I'm not a lawyer and I don't speak for Debian, but I don't think that you can re-license the Open Use Logo under the GFDL.
As I read it, the Open Use Logo license requires that you use the logo and derivatives _to_refer_to_the_Debian_project_. The GFDL doesn't preserve this requirement. If the logo were put under the GFDL, someone could use it to refer to an ice cream shop, an electrical component, or an astrological sign.
What does Debian care if someone does that? Because under American (and I think some other) trademark regimes, if we allow people to use our trademark image to refer to just anything, it "dilutes" our trademark and makes it difficult for us to enforce. If someone put the Debian logo on, say, a Linux distribution without any Debian components inside, we would have a hard time making them stop. "That logo can mean anything you want," they could say. This actually matters in US courts.
So, my inexpert answer: NO. As a Wikipedian, I'd recommend removing the logo from German Wikipedia (although en: is a lot less rigorous about information freedom -- bravo to de:!).
~ESP