On Fri, Dec 19, 2003 at 07:02:20PM +0200, Momchil Velikov wrote:
> >>>>> "Joel" == Joel Baker <fenton@debian.org> writes:
>
> Joel> We have been asked, by the folks who own the name, that we do
> Joel> *something* to avoid using it in this context. Therefore, 'not
> Joel> changing' (from the old usage) is not a viable option. It would
> Joel> be extremely rude, and it could potentially force them to take
> Joel> legal action or risk losing their trademark.
>
> a) owning the name is not a sufficient reason (even legally)
Huhwhat? What sort of crack are you on? That's exactly what a trademark
is about - controlling who can use the name, and how, at least in
the context you've registered the trademark in.
> b) the context of the usage of their trademark is unambiguous in
> that it does NOT denote the NetBSD operating system.
Trademarks are in a much broader context than that. And their desired usage
of the bare word 'NetBSD' is to refer only to the complete OS. They've
asked us nicely; they do have the power to back it up with force if we get
pushy about the issue.
> c) whether it is a viable option is certainly not yours to decide;
> that's why I ask to include the option in the balot
No, it's debian-legal's to decide. To date, they have considered some
form of renaming to be the only feasible option.
If you don't like my decisions, however, feel free to run your own poll
on the question "Should we rename at all?"
> d) what is rude is the FUD spreading from their side
What FUD? They *asked* us to please change it to avoid confusion or
potential problems with trademark dilution.
> e) I'd suggest (if possible) to avoiding decisions based on certain
> country's flawed legal system
It happens to be the country in which both Software in the Public Interest,
and The NetBSD Foundation, are registered. We don't really have a choice of
venue.
--
Joel Baker <fenton@debian.org> ,''`.
Debian GNU/NetBSD(i386) porter : :' :
`. `'
`-
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