For those that care: http://www.tetris.com/ That's the official Tetris web site, and it's even got a complete history of Tetris and the officially licensed Tetris games. They've even got an e-mail address to report "pirates". Sort of funny, since another page describes how the original game for the PC was only available (in Russia) via computer pirates. My opinion, If I had written an unlicensed Tetris game (or was the maintainer of a Debian tetris package) - I would not purposely go out and tangle with their legal department. "The Tetris Company, LLC" is essentially a holding company with one singular asset - the Tetris trademark. They do everything via licensing. If you try to tell them that they have no claim on that trademark, you are denying their very existence. I am sure they have made millions of dollars licensing the trademark - so they would have not trouble financing legal proceedings. And it is fairly clear (to me, at least) that they have a legitimate stake on the Tetris name -- Alexey Pajitnov wrote the original game, after all. If you own a trademark, or a patent, it is a very wise thing to retain a lawyer to occassionally write threatening "cease and desist" letters to people that are using your trademark -- even if they are not in direct competition with you. That way, when a "real" legal situation arises, you can demonstrate in court that you are making a real effort to protect the name from falling into common usage. (This can happen) For example, the Tetris trademark has been licensed to Nintendo. Hypothetically, Sega could come out with their own unlicensed Tetris game using the Tetris name. Of course they would get sued. If court, Sega might claim that the word Tetris is now "common language" - so they don't need a license. But this wouldn't stand up, because "The Tetris Company, LLC" would have a large stack of threatening letters to prove that they have taken reasonable efforts to protect their trademark and prevent the term from becoming "common language". Anyways, it's not worth fighting over, because you'll lose. Rename the package, and use the words "tetris-like" in the description. Cheers, - Jim
Attachment:
pgpDqcnaOY6D_.pgp
Description: PGP signature