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Phoenix To Change Name
e8johan writes "Phoenix, the Mozilla-based web browser, is forced to change name. The new name has not yet been decided, but it is being
discussed
. The reason is that the BIOS manufacturer
Phoenix Technologies
dislikes the trademark infrigment. Next week version 0.5 will be released, with a new name."
It's important to note that this has been debated on and off in the Phoenix community for quite some time. Many of the users and theme developers are quite opposed to Phoenix changing its name, but the developers insist that it's a necessary evil. A proposal for the name change on the MozillaZine board spanned into a 20-page discussion.
Whatever they finally decide upon, it's going to take quite a while to win the approval of the users.
Does this mean that I can never use "Apple" as a name for my program?
Legally, the Phoenix browser does not infringe on Phoenix Technologies' trademark any more than the University of Phoenix, the City of Phoenix (or even the City of Phoenix). However, notice they said "The kind folks over at phoenix.com" - Phoenix Technologies has every right to be unhappy about about the Phoenix browser, and if they have politely asked the name to be changed, then this really isn't a legal issue. The Phoenix browser can be renamed simply to be nice.
:-)
IANAL, and I have no idea what I'm talking about. This is Slashdot after all.
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$x=~y+ -xz+\0-Tx+;print$_^chop$me for split'',$x;
Salamander is a very good name. It's a mythological creature related to fire, like Phoenix, and it's a lizard, like Mozilla.
I hope that, if they change the name, they use this one.
Prescriptive grammar:linguistics
Kirin: A mythological beast from China and Japan similar to a Dragon (sort of a cross between a unicorn and a dragon). This is the only decent reference I could find. Fits in with the theme (grand mythical beasts with supernatural powers) of Mozilla and Phoenix. One legend has it that a Kirin was the father of Confucious ...
...)
(It's also a beer from Japan - but presumably they can't claim copyright since it's a common word and there isn't too much link between software and beer
OSS has won some past PR battles. Enough well written emails to Phoenix Technologies along with some good media articles might be enough to make Phoenix technologies change their mind.
Or how about "Freenix" (Phreenix or Phreonix)?
I Am My Own Worst Enemy
But we can come up with other names that make sense too. How about something that harkens to the Netscape name (not so obviously that it presents a trademark issue of course). Example: Lightscape (or Litescape). Maybe that's too similar, and we should expand the search to related themes. Galeon used this approach for its name, which is a decent name. Some other cool ship name?
Something like K-meleon, on the other hand is a shitty name (if for no other reason than it's not only hard to spell and thus hard to search for and find on the web).
If you can find a mythological name that seems appropriate (has some associated imagery) and sounds decent rolling off the tongue then fine. Otherwise, we shouldn't limit ourselves to the mythological figures/Phoenix-alike names. I don't want this to end up as another open source project rendered inaccessible to a wide audience by a shitty name (think: Ogg Vorbis). I'll never be able to download and install something on my mother's computer if I have to tell her it's an Ogg Vorbis player.
Neither is Ford, Cheverolet or R.J. Reynolds. These are all just people's names.
General Electric isn't a "custom" name in the tradition of Exxon and Acura either and both words are dictionary words.
Yes. By 'custom name', I meant one that wasn't an English noun.
Historically there has been no problem with this concept. The problem has only arisen recently when rich and litigously agressive companies seek to claim *ownership* of a word due the their holding of a trademark.
Yep. What I argue is that it shouldn't be possible to claim that you have the treadmark of a single common English noun, or a (very) common phrase in English, such as "that's life". I'm informed by my dad, who is a solicitor, that in Britain, that is exactly the case. Dunno about America.
That doesn't stop the lawyers from waving around their trademark registration on the graphic and claiming exclusive rights to the word the graphic contains. Have YOU got the $20,000 and 5 years it would take to fight them? They do. In their case it's their job.
WRT 5 years: You don't need to spend every second of your 5 years fighting a case. That's what your lawyers are for. The case SHOULD be a minor inconvenience, with you telling your lawyers the particulars of it and them handling the legal side.
WRT $20,000: Surely, after winning the case, the prosecuting company should be forced to pay you back your legal fees in full PLUS inconvenience payments. That would discourage this kind of legal challenge.
In your case it's your life ruined. Guess who wins?
If they don't have a legit case, YOU should win.
If anything it's the fault of the damned Judges, part of whose job is to throw out obviously bullshit complaints, or at least deal with them in a fairly summary fashion. Nowadays pretty much every doofey complaint gets the full dog and pony show and just the pretrial fillings alone in such a case are enough to break the average Joe.
I'm not so sure the problem is the judges not throwing out bogus cases. I think the real problem is either REALLY stupid judges actually upholding stupid complaints, or REALLY stupid juries upholding them. If every stupid prosecution case failed, and was made to pay the defense's legal fees PLUS compensation for the inconvenience, this kind of shit wouldn't happen half as much.
== Jez ==
Do you miss Firefox? Try Pale Moon.
I like the name 'phoenix' because it is reborn from a bigger, older, mozilla.
;-) [http://uk.geocities.com/pottermovie/quizjava.htm]
What is the name of the phoenix in Harry Potter (2).
Some quizmaster must have been wondering the same.
What is the name of Dumbledores Phoenix?
1. Firebolt
2. Flamer
3. Fawkes
4. Fizz
Fawkes is the right answer, is that a good name for a lightweight webbrowser?
Another suggestion:
-Huma-
Huma means "phoenix" in Persian. It was a name that Baba used as a pen name. Whenever he wrote a poem he used this name. In both Persian and Egyptian mythology the story of the phoenix is similar. A phoenix is a bird that consumes itself by fire and is reborn from its ashes. It is also a merciful bird.
A Phoenix is like a bird with red and gold feathers and known to have a beautiful song. A Phoenix life span varies from different versions, 500 years, 540 years, 1000 years, 1461 years and even 12,9994 years. The Phoenix builds a nest and sets itself on fire and a new Phoenix springs from the pyre. In ancient Egypt the Phoenix represented the sun and in Greek Mythology it presents the early morning. Early Christian custom adopted the Phoenix as a symbol of immortality and resurrection and modern folklore uses the Phoenix as a sign of rebirth, renewal, and starting one more. There only exists one Phoenix at a time. One potential explanation for the Phoenix legend is that some large birds spread their wings over fires so that the smoke exterminates vermin.
If you mod this up, your slashdot background will turn into a beautiful sunset!
My suggestions:
Kokoda (dragon)
Raptor (the dinosaur) (It tears shreds of Internet Explorer)
Anti-MS Internet Exploder
Goanna (an Aussie lizard... also known as a Sand Monitor)
Stargate (after the TV series)
Mozilla Jr.
Minizilla
MoreZilla
MultiZilla
LCARZilla
AraneaVola (Web Fly in Latin)
AraneaPorta (Web Gate in Latin)
ParvulusAranea (Tiny Web in Latin)
StabilisAranea (stable/steadfast Web in Latin)
VeloxAranea (quick/rapid/swift/fast Web in Latin)
ParvulusVeloxAraneaStabilis P.V.A.S (Tiny Fast Web Stable in Latin)
I hope you found them mildy amusing...