On Fri, Sep 02, 2005 at 10:49:25AM +0100, MJ Ray wrote: > I don't know debian-br and I didn't find enough explanation. > Trading with "debian" in the name is an advantage against other > local businesses who can sell debian CDs, isn't it? What does > the project get in return for that advantage? I confess to being puzzled by this persistent use of the term "business" here. AFAICT, the Debian UK Society does not have any employees that it pays; it does not appear to hold any assets, except those which are held in trust for Debian -- AIUI, the stated purpose for its creation; it has no shareholders who stand to profit, either from dividends or from sale of their shares; and it does not engage in any lucrative activities of which the society itself is a benefactor, seeing that revenue from CD sales is donated to Debian. So the society is certainly a /corporation/, but if it's a business it's a piss-poor one. (Likewise, SPI is a corporation, but not a business; and from what I understand of such things, SPI could also not be considered a charity under UK law.) As for what the project gets in return for the advantage when selling Debian CDs, er... we get all the money from the CD sales (after material costs), don't we? It's still a fair question whether we want national non-profit affiliates that hold assets on our behalf to use the Debian trademark, but this "business" business looks like one bloodshot doozy of a red herring. > In general, I think a group now should be called debian only if: > 1. it's a debian subproject, OR > 2. it's a local charity and got consensus BEFORE trading, OR > 3. it's outside the scope of trademark infringement, > because these things have big potential to reflect on debian. > 1 offers debian some influence, 2 should ensure minimal "good > governance" and debian influence and 3 we can't do much about. Why should *charities* get special consideration, anyway? Being a charity doesn't automatically make them aligned with Debian's goals. I think any local org using the Debian name should be accountable to the DPL for the use of that name, if that's what you mean by being a "Debian subproject"; but then, a simple revocable trademark license seems to wholly achieve that. -- Steve Langasek Give me a lever long enough and a Free OS Debian Developer to set it on, and I can move the world. vorlon@debian.org http://www.debian.org/
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