Re: On trademark issues.

["David C. Mason" <dcm redhat com>]

Miguel de Icaza <miguel@helixcode.com> writes:

> Hello guys,
> 
>    Please check this mail.
> From: Richard Stallman <rms@gnu.org>
> Subject: gdp-trademark.txt
> To: miguel@gnu.org
> X-Sent: 1 day, 5 hours, 7 minutes, 2 seconds ago
> Reply-to: rms@gnu.org
> 
> I saw a file gdp-trademark.txt which says this:
> 
>     3. If you use any of the trademarks, you should add to
>     <legalnotice>
>        section appropriate legal junk, e.g. 
> 
>       <legalnotice>
>         <para>
>           This document can be freely redistributed according to the
>           terms of the GNU 
>           General Public License.
>         </para>
>         <para> Linux is a trademark of Linus Torvalds</para>
>         <para> UNIX is a trademark of X/Open Group</para>
>         <para> Macintosh  is a trademark of Apple, Inc.</para>
>         <para> All other trademarks are property of their
>       owners</para>
>       </legalnotice>
> 
> Please don't use such notices in any GNU documentation (or software
> packages).  There is no legal requirement for them, and they have
> the spirit of kowtowing to businesses, so our policy for 16 years
> has been not to use them in anything we do.


Well Miguel, this is something I would ask a lawyer about because in
my long experience writing docs you *must* acknowledge trademarks no
matter what. My understanding from a lawyer a few years ago was that
the first instance of a trademarked name had to have the (tm) beside
it and then the other instances were ok.Then somewhere in that
document the ownership of that trademark must be presented in
full. That may have changed since then, but I was glad to see the
person who added that... add that.

Again, I think we, the GNOME project, should check this with a lawyer
not because I want to 'kowtow' to any business but because I want to
protect what I write from being taken away. Until the FSF makes good
on their promise to give us a documentation license I fear it too easy
for people with bad intentions to exploit our work.

Dave