Re: Open Font License 1.1review2 - comments?

[Terry Hancock <hancock@anansispaceworks.com>]

Gervase Markham wrote:
> But the names aren't required to be trademarked.

That sentence is nonsense in legal terms: there is no such thing as
"trademarking a name". A name becomes a trademark when you use it as
one. Putting it in a list of reserved font names is one way of doing that.

I think you are confusing the idea with *registering* a trademark, which
is an assurance of trademark protection (it provides a formal means of
avoiding conflict and establishing precedence), but it isn't required
for trademark protection.

In fact, this is exactly like post-1978 US copyright law (and the Berne
Convention, IIRC): copyright protection applies from the moment of
creation. Registration is a formality, which may make it easier to
defend a copyright, but does not change the copyright status.

Trademark is similar. We have separate marks for an (unregistered)
trademark "TM" and a registered one "(R)".

> It's definitely a
> restriction over and above trademark law. (I don't think it makes the
> license non-free, though.)

So, in fact, it is NOT a restriction over and above trademark law.

Of course, IANAL, but I'm pretty darned certain of this.

Cheers,
Terry

-- 
Terry Hancock (hancock@AnansiSpaceworks.com)
Anansi Spaceworks http://www.AnansiSpaceworks.com