Re: Re : Fedora Dispute

akonstam_at_trinity.edu
Date: 05/08/05

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    Date: Sun, 8 May 2005 15:55:29 -0500
To: For users of Fedora Core releases <fedora-list@redhat.com>

    On Sun, May 08, 2005 at 08:48:55AM -0500, Thomas Cameron wrote:
    > >>This is really a tempest in a teapot. The Cornell/UVA use and Red Hat's
    > >>use of the name do not conflict. One is for a digital management system
    > >>and one is for a Linux distribution. I suspect anyone who can spell the
    > >>word "computer" will know that they are not the same thing.
    > >>
    > >>Cornell/UVA are making this into more than it is - Red Hat's own lawyers
    > >>have said that they can't see any way that there could be a conflict.
    > >>See
    > >>http://www.infoworld.com/article/03/11/20/HNredhatfedora_1.html for more
    > >>info.
    > >>
    > >>Thomas
    > >
    > >I strongly disagree. It is RedHat that is making the problem by
    > >wanting to trademark the name Fedora. There was not objection from the
    > >Cornell/UVA group until RedHat took that action.
    >
    > Red Hat is trademarking Fedora *as it relates to a Linux operating system
    > distribution.* Red Hat admits that Cornell/UVA have prior use and are not
    > contesting that. See
    > http://www.infoworld.com/article/03/11/20/HNredhatfedora_1.html, the
    > paragraph beginning "The researchers have common law rights that protect
    > their use of the Fedora name, according to Webbink." Note that Webbink is
    > Red Hat's counsel. Red Hat has made clear they have no intention of
    > interfering with Cornell/UVA's use of the Fedora name as regards to its
    > digital management system.
    >
    > Read the info on Red Hat's filing at
    > http://tarr.uspto.gov/servlet/tarr?regser=serial&entry=78296509. You will
    > notice that they are very specific about the trademark application being
    > for "Computer software, namely, computer programs for operating systems,
    > and instructional manuals provided therewith as a unit."
    >
    > The Cornell/UVA folks and some people in the community are making more of
    > this than they need to. Red Hat is not the villain here. They are just
    > trying to protect the hard work they're doing with the Fedora distribution.
    > They have no desire to impinge on the Cornell/UVA folks, and it is a pretty
    > wild stretch of the imagination that this would ever happen.
    >
    > Thomas
    We are spending too much time on this but your quoting of Webbink (the
    name alone makes me suspicious) flies in the face of reality. Fairely
    often a large corporation sues a smaller store or company for using
    not only the exactly same name that they have trademarked but for a
    name that is a pun on their name. If Cornell/UVA were not also
    marketing software I would be more sympathetic that the trademarking
    could not affect Cornell/UVA. 

    -- 
=======================================================================
There's no point in being grown up if you can't be childish sometimes.
		-- Dr. Who
-------------------------------------------
Aaron Konstam
Computer Science
Trinity University
One Trinity Place.
San Antonio, TX 78212-7200
telephone: (210)-999-7484
email:akonstam@trinity.edu
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