Re: open source trademark

[Ben Pfaff <pfaffben@pilot.msu.edu>]

Brian Ristuccia <brianr@osiris.978.org> writes:

   > However, I see that as a comparison to open source, not a claim that
   > their Community Source license is an open source license.

   This to me sounds like someone going on and on about the features and
   benefits of their alternate tone-based telephone dialing system looking for
   adoptees and investors, and then throwing in a quote like "...the real value
   of the TouchTone dialing system is that it has revolutionized the way
   Americans use the telephone."

   I think sort of thing would prompt at least a "this trademark is ours"
   angry-gram from the owner of the TouchTone mark. IANAL, but I don't see how
   the Open Source mark and it's use by folks at Sun Microsystems would be any
   different in this sort of instance. 

I don't want us sending "angry-grams" to *anyone*.  Being polite will
get us so much further.  Anger will just be unproductive.  There is
never any cause for it in a situation like this.  A first contact
should be very polite, but firm; later contacts should be more
assertive, but never angry.

Please don't take any anger out on Sun.  It won't help any situation
at all, and I'm not convinced yet that contact is necessary.  If you
think that it is, perhaps you could draft some sort of official Debian
response for review by the list.  It will be necessary in the future
anyhow as the trademark is abused more and more.
-- 
"To the engineer, the world is a toy box full of sub-optimized and
 feature-poor toys." --Scott Adams