Re: Debian Logo Use
On Mon, Apr 14, 2008 at 04:20:33PM -0700, Will Kaiser wrote:
> were to go the latter route, I would be using the Debian swirl for the logo
> and the word "debi" in the name. I won't do either of those without the
> blessing of the Debian project and am willing to modify my project plans to
> an extent if you think we can negotiate. You may be asking "why not just use
> your own name/logo?". Well, this really isn't a true "distribution". It's
> just a slightly customized Debian install and we want people to know that.
I think they're too similiar. Someone has already pointed out the URLs
for the logo and trademark sites.
To me you have two problems with using debi and the swirl logo. The
first is yes you may run foul of the law doing this. What SPI would do
is, probably at this point, theoretical but there is certainly a chance
of trouble.
The second problem is more likely and possibly more damaging. Some
people will interpret what you are doing as trying to "pass off" your
distribution as the real Debian project. They will then view your
project in a negative light. It may be someone withing Debian, who may
be less likely to cooperate, or it could be someone outside who then
doesn't use the distribution or worse stil starts some huge flamewar on
some blog somewhere about it.
Then suddenly what you are trying to do appears to be sinister, when all
you're trying to do is get Debian out there to some group of users who
may not of heard of it or would use it. Bad for everyone all round.
If you create a "Special Packaging Group" distribution with a smiling
hamster in a kilt (or whatever it is called and looks) that mentions it
uses Debian then that whole potiential negative press goes away.
I would say using your own will mean not buying into a lot of headaches
later on. Good luck on your project, anyone who can get more people
using Free Software in general and Debian (derivative or not) is a good
thing in my opinion.
- Craig
--
Craig Small GnuPG:1C1B D893 1418 2AF4 45EE 95CB C76C E5AC 12CA DFA5
http://www.enc.com.au/ csmall at : enc.com.au
http://www.debian.org/ Debian GNU/Linux, software should be Free
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