SSC vs LinuxGazette.net Continued

An anonymous reader writes "To update an earlier story about the pending battle between SSC and LinuxGazette.net, it seems SSC has taken to officially asserting a trademark on the term 'Linux Gazette' and is asking them to relinquish the domain name. Interesting to note that LinuxGazette.net has issue 97 out, while SSC doesn't."

Comments

I smell something very fishy going on

[Anonymous Coward]

And I don't the Linux Gazette volunteers. I wondered who had the trademark to "Linux Gazette". I ran the TM search and guess what I found.

Word Mark LINUX GAZETTE
Goods and Services IC 041. US 100 101 107. G & S: Publication of Journal. FIRST USE: 19950701. FIRST USE IN COMMERCE: 19960801
Mark Drawing Code (1) TYPED DRAWING
Serial Number 78319880
Filing Date October 28, 2003
Current Filing Basis 1A
Original Filing Basis 1A
Owner (APPLICANT) Specialized Systems Consultants, Inc. CORPORATION 2208 NW Market St Suite 407 Seattle WASHINGTON 98107
Type of Mark SERVICE MARK
Register PRINCIPAL
Live/Dead Indicator LIVE

There is a trademark registered to SSC. But the application date was Oct 28,2003. The very same day that Rick Moen notified Phil Hugh that they were moving the magazine accord to the LWN article [lwn.net].

SSC is playing dirty pool not the other around.

Precedence claims

[Llyr]

From the "cease and desist" letter from SCC:
Specific examples of our use of this trademark go back to 1996

Ok, but the first issue on LinuxGazette.net is July 1995, so is this claim of precedence bogus or am I missing something big here with respect to the history of this dispute?

Re:Precedence claims

[trystanu]

It seems a little more complicated than that (from here):

Until recently, SSC provided web hosting for the Gazette and allowed some of its (SSC's) staff to assist in production of the Gazette during working hours.

However, all that seems to have changed. SSC is now running a site at linuxgazette.com which it calls Linux Gazette. The people who were running Linux Gazette earlier have moved to a new site at linuxgazette.net - and are running Linux Gazette as well!

According to an explanation posted by SSC, "a group of the Linux Gazette contributors opposed the transition of our site to a Content Management System. While we did our best to address the concerns, some have elected to leave Linux Gazette and start their own publication. We regret their decision but as (most) were volunteers, it certainly is their right.

"Unfortunately, they have so far continued to use our Linux Gazette trademark in conjunction with their new site. Until such time as they stop using that trademark, we have been advised to remove any references to that mis-use (sic) from our site."

According to Rick Moen, contributing editor of Linux Gazette, the decision to move was due to a number of things, "including SSC's unexplained, unannounced, retroactive deletions of prior issues' articles, its stripping of authors' copyright notices and substitution of their own corporate one, and its proclaimed plans to make LG cease being a magazine and cease having editors, turning it into solely a dynamic Web site."

Moen said after the move to new quarters, SSC "to our astonishment produced a November issue purporting to be Linux Gazette, immediately after our November issue went to press. This was surprising because we'd been told they intended that monthly magazine issues would cease."

Slashdot vs. Linux Gazettes

[trystanu]

linuxgazette.com slashdotted.
linuxgazette.net still standing.

Seems like the trial is over to me...

Cancel your subscription to Linux Journal

[peeping_Thomist]

The only thing corporations understand is money. Cancel your subscription to Linux Journal until SSC abandons this foolhardy path. You can always resubscribe.

The time to act is now, not after SSC has used the courts to screw over the community.

Read the history - Who is LinuxGazette ?

[SmegTheLight]

I have said it before, and I will say it again:

This achive of Issue # 8 seems to be unclear as to what happened when they started being hosted by Linux Journal.

And finally, I want to offer a very special note of thanks to Phil Hughes at the Linux Journal. Phil is one of those infectiously nice guys that starts a casual conversation with you and after 2 hours, you're talking and laughing like life-long buddies. He's a great guy and I'm absolutely delighted that he and the folks at the Linux Journal have been willing to take over the care and feeding of the Linux Gazette.

That seems to support lg.net's position - Just a hosting arangement.

But..

So, after chatting at some length with Phil Hughes about this, I've decided to turn the Linux Gazette over to the Linux Journal. I think that the Gazette has demonstrated the "proof of concept" -- that a freely available and open-to-all online publication is a great means for sharing information and ideas. There are a number of great things that could be done with this and I'm excited about the Gazette continuing on in this tradition.

That seems to show that Fisk is turning it over to SCC. If that is the case then this is SCC's baby now. You can see in the write up where each side is getting their views

Net result, this could have all been handled with a little more tact on both sides. If SCC had just followed the wishes of the people who produced the article, this wouldn't have been a problem.

It should have been the creators of the work, the volunteers, who should have been deciding on what direction the magazine should take. Not some marketroid who found way to suck $$, or techie who felt this was his site, and wanted to put up a CMS and/or excert his power.

I from what I read of #8, I would have to say SCC has the stronger argument, even if they have the ,IMHO, worse site - I want a online mag, not a CMS.

Though two sources of free online linux articles is better then one.