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Phoenix To Change Name

Posted by Hemos on from the way-up-in-the-sky-where-the-little-birds-play dept.

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."

5 of 540 comments (clear)

  1. About that name change... by EchoMirage · · Score: 5, Interesting

    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.

    1. Re:About that name change... by aonaran · · Score: 5, Interesting

      Can you trademark well known mythological creature's and hero's names in the US? I'm pretty sure you can't in Canada then again IANAL.

    2. Re:About that name change... by Daniel+Phillips · · Score: 5, Interesting

      Can you trademark well known mythological creature's and hero's names in the US? I'm pretty sure you can't in Canada then again IANAL.

      Clearly, Phoenix is a generic name from mythology, and Phoenix the bios company is merely taking advantage of the fact that it's easy to bully a group of volunteers, whether there is a case for infringment or not. Not only is Pheonix a non-original name, but there is also no possibility of confusion between Phoenix the bios and Phoenix the browser, or any possibility for Phoenix the browser to trade on the goodwill of Pheonix the bios maker. Such goodwill as Pheonix the bios maker has left that is. I don't know about you, but this company just made it onto my black list, right up there with Adobe (remember Killustrator?). No Phoenix bioses will make it into any project that I have control over.

      --
      Have you got your LWN subscription yet?
  2. Salamander by leoboiko · · Score: 5, Interesting

    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 :: alchemy:chemistry. Stop being a nazi and learn some science.
  3. What about: Kirin by ukryule · · Score: 5, Interesting

    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 ...)