Questions for ZDNet article

[Evan Leibovitch <evan@telly.org>]

Hello there.

I write a regular piece at linux.zdnet.com, and I've been hoping to talk
to someone at SPI briefly about the decision of the US Patent and
Trademark Office to abandon SPI's registration of the term "Open Source".

This is my third request to SPI for some kind of comment, and my deadline
if fast approaching. If you could help me reach the people involved, or if
one of you could personally help me with answers to these questions, I
would very much appreciate it.

Feel free to call me at (905) 452 0504, but you're welcome to answer in
email if you prefer -- or give me a phone number and I'll call you. My
main questions are:

- Why didn't SPI reply to the USPTO's "office action", a request for
  clarification, issued September 17?

- How long ago did SPI know that the registration process would be
  abandoned?

- What effect, if any, did the competing ownership claims by SPI and
  OSI have on the registration process?

- What is the Debian group's (or SPI's) general reaction to this?

Thanks for any help you can offer.

- Evan Leibovitch
  evan@telly.org