Re: Logo trademark license vs. copyright license
Francesco Poli wrote:
> On Tue, 17 Apr 2007 21:41:45 +0200 Arnoud Engelfriet wrote:
> > Yes, these are vague criteria but that is to a certain extent
> > inherent in trademark law. You don't know what people will do
> > and how that can affect your trademark.
>
> Wait, the Debian Project should clarify the intended meanings of the two
> different logos, in order to inform users upfront about which uses will
> be considered OK, and which will be deemed to be abuses...
Ok, then I would suggest moving that out of the first sentence and
into a new paragraph. "The above exception only applies for the
situations described in Exhibit Z". Then you can write an Exhibit Z
for your own trademark(s).
> | The sign [X] (hereafter "the Mark") is a trademark, rights to which
> | are held by [Y] (hereafter "the Mark Holder"), representing [Z].
>
> AFAIUI, this means that the sign [X] is a trademark that means or refers
> to [Z].
Right. My problem with that is that Z can change over time, but
the definition of Z won't change with that.
> The trademark license should forbid people to use [X] to mean or refer
> to something that is *not* [Z].
Suppose Debian becomes a free hardware company too. The license
would still refer to software only, as it was written before
that happened. Then can I use the sign Debian to promote my
proprietary hardware company? The license only said I couldn't
create confusion with the software parts of Debian.
> [X] = Debian Open Use Logo
> [Z] = Debian Project and Debian distributions
> Nobody is allowed to use [X] (or a confusingly similar sign) to refer to
> IBM, or to Slackware, or to Microsoft, or to MacOS X, ...
Ehm, you can't do *that* in a trademark license. You can only complain
if people use X to create confusion in relation to *you*.
Saying "don't create confusion with anyone" goes beyond what you
are allowed with your trademark.
Anyway, in summary I think it could work to have some Z in there
but I also think an exhibit is better. That at least avoids the
impression that Z has to fit in (one part of) a single sentence,
which probably is too short for most cases.
Arnoud
--
Arnoud Engelfriet, Dutch & European patent attorney - Speaking only for myself
Patents, copyright and IPR explained for techies: http://www.iusmentis.com/
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