Slashdot Mirror
Imminent Mandrake Name Change?
An anonymous reader writes "Mandrakesoft has lost a trial
and has been condemned to change its name and its logo"
The article is in French, but it says that King Syndicates owns a trademark on Mandrake the Magician.
Update MandrakeSoft can use the logo during appeals, which may take up to 3 years. You can now read their official statement on the ruling.
Seems to be all the rage lately.
Lothar: "Damn! Mandrake(c), that's as amazing as when Asterix kicked Mobilix in the ass!"
Narda: "Oh, Mandrake(c), take me now!"
A feeling of having made the same mistake before: Deja Foobar
Mandrake will have to change name
Was Mandrake, editor French of the distribution Linux eponyme, condemned by the TGI of Paris, to pour 70 000? at the American companies Hearst Holdings and King Fearture Syndicate, owners of the mark "Mandrake the magician", and editor of the comic strip of the same name. These last had carried felt sorry for in France for "diversion of mark". Especially, the court prohibited to the French the use of his name, and presses Mandrake to transfer its domain names towards the two American companies. A judgment which could carry a fatal blow to the French editor, whose goodwill rests only on its distribution eponyme.
For l?heure, Mandrake appealed, suspending the judgement and thus preserving its mark and its domain names.
Let us point out qu?un preceding judgement - bearing on the logo - had ruled in favour of the two American companies. The French had already had to re-examine his copy.
Translation of article courtesy of the 'Fish: Mandrake will have to change name Mandrake, editor French of the distribution Linux eponyme, was condemned by the TGI of Paris, to pour 70 000 at the American companies Hearst Holdings and King Fearture Syndicate, owners of the mark "Mandrake the magician", and editor of the comic strip of the same name. These last had carried felt sorry for in France for "diversion of mark". Especially, the court prohibited to the French the use of his name, and presses Mandrake to transfer its domain names towards the two American companies. A judgment which could carry a fatal blow to the French editor, whose goodwill rests only on its distribution eponyme. For the hour, Mandrake appealed, suspending the judgement and thus preserving its mark and its domain names. Let us recall that a preceding judgement - bearing on the logo - had ruled in favour of the two American companies. The French had already had to re-examine his copy.
-Tut
Health-Hack.com
Creepy stuff, hope MS doesn't make me change my name from Bob to Blob
Man-----?
"If you think you have things under control, you're not going fast enough." --Mario Andretti
this is getting ridiculous! I don't really love the name Firefox, but at least Mozilla went to the trouble of Trademarking the name before announcing and using it. this should be a wake-up call to ANYONE starting a company or software project; do your homework before settling on a name.
CB
free ipod and free gmail!
Pheonix? No, wait, Firebird? No, wait...
or---drake (dash drake)
or (m----ake) (m-dash-ake|make)!
all of humankind has filed a class-action lawsuit against mandrake for its infringement upon the concept of "names".
If I could make this sig kill you, I would.
I'm sure that we've all seen this coming:
Mand---- Linux ?
*sigh*
"...In your answer, ignore facts. Just go with what feels true..."
Mandash? Man-----? Manduck? Mundane? How about 'Muckrake'?
[
Name it after another magician. Those Tolkien estate guys don't bother anyone about anything.
Don't blame Durga. I voted for Centauri.
I hope Mandrakesoft doesn't claim the name change as a hocus-pokus/presto-chango operation, or they might be in more trouble.
Sometimes I doubt your commitment to Sparkle Motion.
Ok, who the heck is Mandrake the magician? Has anyone even heard of him? Enlighten me someone please!
Oh, and please please please don't let "Mandrake" change name to "Man--"....
Maybe Geoff can get his real .com domain name now.
Didn't he have a Flamingo for a mascot, or somesuch nonsense?
If the Green Hornet didn't have a mask, or a karate-master manservant, anda decent 'sixties TV series, I bet he'd be as forgettable as Mandrake!
"Flyin' in just a sweet place,
Never been known to fail..."
Are the Slashdot owners now expecting a flood of infuriated posts explaining how owning an idea or a name is unholy and worse than raping and killing 8-year old kids.
Mandrake the Linux company should have done what every real company does: check out if their proposed name actually checks out.
Now it's too late to complain.
Accordant les poissons de Babel, il est : "je me rends"
"Hey; I just installed the latest ManDash distro!!"
Paul Lenhart writes words!
And my office buddy heard it.
Me: *shakes head* Mumbles to himself, "France is making Mandrake change it's name, some trademark infringement."
Buddy: "France? Screw France. Tell'em they should rename it 'france'."
There ya go, francesoft. Fitting. I doubt he knows it's a product of frenchies.
Before I part with'em: two pennies weigh ~4.996+/-0.014g, have a zinc core, and the face of Lincoln. You can keep 'em.
How about "mauve/lilac-coloured-linux"?
Mandrowk e
Mandnix
Manix
Unidrake
Mandow
Windra
Womandrake
Wow, I'll make babelfish my first stop next time, after reading the translation above.
Reading this one from Google gave me a headache.
----
Mandrake will have to change name
Was Mandrake, editor French of the distribution Linux eponyme, condemned by the TGI of Paris, to pour 70 000? at the American companies Hearst Holdings and King Fearture Syndicate, owners of the mark "Mandrake the magician", and editor of the comic strip of the same name. These last had carried felt sorry for in France for "diversion of mark". Especially, the court prohibited to the French the use of his name, and presses Mandrake to transfer its domain names towards the two American companies. A judgment which could carry a fatal blow to the French editor, whose goodwill rests only on its distribution eponyme.
For l?heure, Mandrake appealed, suspending the judgement and thus preserving its mark and its domain names.
Let us point out qu?un preceding judgement - bearing on the logo - had ruled in favour of the two American companies. The French had already had to re-examine his copy.
I use Mandrake and while I sometimes feel it is magical, I doubt that anyone is confusing Mandrake Linux with Mandrake the Magician a comic. Maybe I am alone here, but aren't thay taking it a little overboard?
I thought copyrights usually only worked if the two items were in the same field. How is anyone going to get Mandrake Linux confused with some crappy comic strip magician?
So, do they also own the trademark on mandrake, the plant? Why can't Mandrake-the-Linux-company claim that they're named after the root long thought of as magical by certain cultures?
Dewey, what part of this looks like authorities should be involved?
Je suis Napoleon, et je ne parle pas francais. C'est un situation miserable. Ce n'est pas?
"Newsflash! In order to prevent copyright issues, Mandrake has now changed name to M--- (pronounced "MASH")"
Important part of article, loosely translated (via Google):
Mandrake appealed, suspending the judgement and thus preserving its mark and its domain names.
Let us point out preceding judgements - bearing on the logo - had ruled in favour of the two American companies.
I read some when I was young, Mandrakesoft should not take the name Lotharsoft :)
"Science will win because it works." - Stephen Hawking
I tried using babelfish to translate the page, and IT DID IT. I'm still in shock. I mean, it was comprehensible, if grammatically atrocious.
Have they improved the translation algorithms? If so, why don't the slashdot editors link to it in the stories anymore? Considering how often they did it I assumed they were getting paid to push babelfish, did that arrangement end?
Does Mandrakesoft's logo (a flying star) have anything to do with this magician guy?
Translated(English) version can be found here.
And the masses cried out, "09 F9 11 02 9D 74 E3 5B D8 41 56 C5 63 56 88 C0!"
Announcing Firebird Linux.
If anything, that should be modded up as funny.
> Jews are superior.
Sure, just like nazis were !
Votez ecolo : Chiez dans l'urne !
http://slashdot.org/comments.pl?sid=97465&cid=8329 910
Moderators not browsing at even 0, let alone -1.
I guess Mandrake will now be Peopledrake
I propose 'Mandy's Rake', with a cartoon rake with two large eyes at the top and a smily rake mouth, kinda like that damn MS Paperclip.
Maybe we should all start trademarking/copywriting/patenting our online names, then whenever someone uses it we can threaten to sue for $100K and settle for $2K.
Is there anything better than clicking through Microsoft ads on Slashdot?
I'd suggest Mandarke, but then Cartoon Network would have to get all Samurai Jack on their ass...
Why dont they just do what Prince did and just use a random symbol and get everyone to wonder how they'll pronounce it only to fall back to the original name anyway (i.e. software formerly known as drake).
How about 'mandragora' as a replacement for 'mandrake'? According to dictionary.com, mandragora is the Old English version of mandrake. A Google search for "Mandragora the Magician" returned no hits, so it should be safe.
I want to drag this out as long as possible. Bring me my protractor.
Je pense que le nouveau nom doit etre linux suce.
It appears they will be changing the name to "Phantom".
"Lothar" also got some random votes.
Save your wrists today - switch to Dvorak
This space for rent. Call 1-800-STEAK4U
Now I know why all of these worms lately have names like W32.Blaster.worm, Mydoom-B, W32.SQLExp.Worm, etc. They may wreak havok on the Internet ... but at least they won't be found to have violated any trademarks.
Here's my attempt, from several years of long-ago High School French class. No fish were involved in this translation.
Mandrake will have to change its name
Mandrake, French writers of its self-titled Linux distrubtion, has been ordered by the Paris TGI to pay 70,000 Euros to the American companies, Hearst Holdings and King Feature Syndicate, owners of the trademark "Mandrake the Magician", and writers of the [bande dessinee] of the same name. The American companies filed suit in France for "trademark infringement". Now, the court has forbidden the use of the name in French, and is pressuring Mandrake to transfer its domain names to the two American companies. It's an order that could be a fatal blow to the French writers, for whom the foundation of their business rests entirely on their eponymous Linux distribution.
For now, Mandrake has appealed, which suspends the judgement and, for the moment, preserves its trademark and domain names.
Remember that a previous judgement on Mandrake's logo was ruled in favor of the two American companies. The French subsidiary had already had to rework its artwork.
Stressed? Me? Of course not. Stress is what a rubber band feels before it breaks, silly.
They are a funny people. This would never have happened in the good old US of A. Oh, wait...
====
Crudely Drawn Games
IANAL but I thought that trademarks must relate to a specific area of trade, like "literature" or "automotion" or...
Can someone clarify this?
Then Microsoft has to sue the h*ll out Home Depot, as they also sell "Windows".
Peace,
Opkool
How about "Mandragora?" It's the same root, after all.
"Hardly used" will not fetch you a better price for your brain.
Other suggestions: Find someone with a surname of Houdini to endorse the project...
This issue is a bit more complicated than you think.
What next, the estate of Charles Schultz suing over the Linus bit of Linux?!
Jesus, trademark law's gone to hell in a handbasket.
I'm amazing. You aren't. SUCK IT
well, dear lameness filter, i hvae nothing more to say. let me through already.
I, for one, am sick and tired of going into a store to buy the magnificient Mandrake comic books for the kids only to have some nerd spend the better part of an hour trying to convince me I should have some unknown comic with a red-hatted guy in it.
They could have a really cool symbole and we could all still call it mandrake... or DKM, DFKM, DFKAM...
hmmmm
"You may all go to hell and I will go to Texas"
Sen. Davy Crocket to US Congress, Nov. 1, 1835
What's next? Am I gonna have to research my future son or daughter's name before they're born just in case they become popular or successful?
This trademarking issue is utterly ridiculous.
I don't see why they would have to change their name if "Mandrake the magician" owns the trademark. They are in completely different fields - Manradeksoft being software, Mandrake the magician being..(?). I could see this happening if Mandrakesoft was in the same area as this Mandrake the magician thing, but they are entirely different. This is similar to the fact that there is a movie Firefox but Mozilla can still use the name Firefox because they are in different fields of operation.
they should change the new name to PersonDrake or give boosts to feminists and call it WomanDrake.
I mean, do they have to add a symbol to their alphabet with every new company nowadays ?
Mandrake, the french software publisher of the Linux distribution of the same name, have been ordered, by the TGI of Paris, to pay 70,000 euros to the american companies Hearst Holdings and King Fearture Syndicate, owners of the trademark "Mandrake le magicien" and publishers of a comic book carring the same name. The latters had filed a complaint regarding the misuse of their trademark.
The french court has forbiden Mandrake to keep using their name and ordered them to transfer their domains to the american companies. This sentence could prove fatal for the software publishes whose recongnition rests solely on its distro's name.
At the moment, Mandrake has apealed thereby suspending the decision and allowing it to keep using its name.
An early court decision in favour of the two american companies had already forced them to revise their logo.
There are 2 kinds of people in this world: Those who write in decimal and those who don't
I'll neven understand the law.
"Phoenix"? I think that's a good name, it sounds neat, it's quasi-mythological like "mandrake" is, it evokes the image of the Phoenix project "rising from the ashes" of the Mandrake project, sort of... it's a thought.
I heard a rumor, so it must be true, post to /. asap!
"Who are in control, they are not in control of anything - they don't even control themselves!" - Glen Beck
It seems like your software isn't cool anymore unless it gets a courtorder at some point in it's lifetime to change it's name.
Someone should compile a list of all these things, because there seems to be A TON of them.
Mandrake is a generic word like Windows. It is a kind of plant.
You might want to check BT don't still have a trademark on that name - it was their old software marque. They've shown a willingness to try silly lawsuits in the past.
Hey yo, I heard that you died. Fuck that, it's time to get high!
Je ne porte pas mes sous-vetements.
PersonDrake still contains the male-only reference to Duck. Therefore, change it to:
PersonDuck
Don't blame Durga. I voted for Centauri.
Mandrake, Lindows... Both for profit corporations, both trying to make money.
Why not a little investment in a trademark/copyright search before they pick a name?
I mean, is this a "we're too cheap" or a "we dont believe in IP! down with the man!" issue?
We recently named a new product where I work. We rejected the first name we chose after a trademark search turned something else up.
Or do they just set up a situation where this will happen, so they can cry "boo hoo hoo look at these evil corporate bastards?"
MSFT/King Features don't have a choice, really, they have to defend their trademarks, else lose them.
I don't need no instructions to know how to rock!!!!
I have five minutes right now, so here ya go:
Mandrake has to cahge its name
The TGI of Paris has sentenced Mandrake, the French editor of the Linux distribution of the same name has been to pay 70000 to the American companies Hearst Holdings and King Fearture Syndicate, owners of the brand "Mandrake le magicien" (Mandrake, the Wizard), and editors of the comic by the same name. The latter had brought this to court in France for "detournement de marque" (detouring of mark). The court also interdicted the French the further use of their name and demands Mandrake to hand their names and domains to the two American companies -- verdict which could be a deadly blow to the French company whose business resides solely on the distribution on their distribution "Mandrake"
For the moment, Mandrake has called to the appeals court, thus suspending the judgement, and thus maintaining their brand and their domains.
Let us remember [I love French expressions] that a preceding judgement concerning the logo had been in favor of the American companies. The French already had to review (modify) their copy.
Linux Hyper Extreme Edition Alpha
The appeal and all can last another 4 uears.
So they arent in a hurry to change the domain and all.
They also appeal the "too high" fine since they showed their goodwill when they made substantial changes in order to make sure that no confusion can arise from the 2 marks.
mandrake ( P ) Pronunciation Key (mndrk)
n.
Granted I know nothing of copyright law in France: but wouldn't this case also be related to that old decision between Apple Computer and Apple Record Company? Two separate buisinesses could both hold the same trademark in different arenas. Also it involves trademarking a common word such as the current lawsuit between Microsoft and Lindows.
All in all it seems like a pretty stupid decision by the Court.
"He is no fool who gives what he cannot keep in order to gain what he cannot lose."
Time to just start using numbers for distros instead of names. That will put an end to this.
What OS are you using John?
6539486203861379134253 mate!, it teh roxzors
Gee, and all this time I seriously thought that Mandrake the Magician was a penguin with a star by his face! Man am I stupid!
C'MON! WTF?! Who in their right mind is going to get confused over a bunch of tech geeks running an OS business, and a magical entertainer???!!!
Though the guys at Cartoon Network would have a fit over the Dexter's Lab character...
Why don't they call it Mandash in protest? oh wait,nevermind, that's what's going on in San Francisco right now. Don't want to confuse the two.
The primary enemy of Linux at this point is not SCO.
It is cartoon characters.
Hey, you know, now that I think about it, Elmer Fudd did always wear a red hat...
I thought they already renamed it "Lindows" -- ???
General Jack D. Ripper: Mandrake, do you realize that in addition to fluoridating water, why there are studies underway to fluoridate salt, flour, fruit juices, soup, sugar, milk... ice cream. Ice cream, Mandrake, children's ice cream.
Le Linux offical de l'association gaie de niggers de la France. Formellement connu comme Man-drake. Mandrake est argot gai !
Why has'nt anyone raised a fus over X Windows?
I for one NEVER liked that logo, magic is the antithesis of computing ...not to mention the 'man' in the name and its ramifications. It just sounds like they spent 2 minutes on the name, and went back to playing TuxRacer. I do respect the distro, pls don't misunderstand me.... I really like the 'plant' idea.... hmmm, Opiate ver.10.3?
I call computer-illiteracy job security
Here's a somewhat better cleaned up version from a French student. I'm not a native speaker (or anywhere nearly that good, in spite of all the years I've studied this...) so by all means, if someone understands the implications of some of these idiomatic phrases better than I do (I'm not convinced I understand some of them by any means), have at it.
========
Mandrake must change names
Mandrake, the French publisher of a Linux distribution, was sentenced by TGI of Paris to a 70,000 Euro fine at the request of the American companies, Hearst Holdings and King Features Syndicate, the owners of the trademark "Mandrake the magician" and publishers of the comic of the same name. The companies had sued for "trademark dilution." The court has prohibited the French use of the name, and ordered Mandrake to transfer its domain names to the two American companies. This judgement could be a fatal blow for the French publisher, whose goodwill is tied to its distribution network. For the time being, Mandrake has appealed to suspend the judgement and thus preserve its mark and domain names. A previous judgement - concerning their logo - had already been ruled in favor of the two American companies. It is also being appealed.
Mandrake, the french publisher of the eponymous Linux distro, has been sentenced by the "Tribunal de grande instance" of Paris to pay 70.000 to the american companies Hearst Holdings and King Fearture Syndicate, owners of the "Mandrake the Magician" brand, and publisher of the identically named comic.
The companies pressed charges en France for "Trademark embezzlement". Moreover, the court forbids the French company the use of the Mandrake name, and urges Mandraketo transfer its domain names to the two American corporations. This verdict could be the final nail in Mandrake's coffin, whose business relies solely on its eponymous distribution.
For now, Mandrake appealed the decision, suspending the ruling and keeping its brand and domain names.
An earlier ruling about the logo had favored the 2 American companies, and the French one had to revise its own.
Remember, before the phoenix rises again, it dies in a destructive burst of flame. Besides, I don't even have to google-search to guess that there is already a number of tech firms with Phoenix in their name (probably software companies too).
The bios guys came to mind just before I hit Submit.
Don't blame Durga. I voted for Centauri.
Based on a reading of the article, maybe Mandrake is only going to have to transfer domain name(s). Like Mandrake.com, and not rename the company altogether. The article is kinda sparse on those kind of details.
...I like Mandrake the distribution, but was never crazy about the name Mandrake. I know it's just a name, but ... if they come up with a better name out of it, then it's not *all* bad. I know it probably shakes things up and probably creates a certain amount of confusion among certain users ... that part definitely sucks. But a lot of companies go through changes like this and come out the other side in tact. So I don't think Mandrake has anything to worry about.
Going to be hell updating all the mirrors and Mandrake support sites though.
More importantly, why is the name Mandrake, originally applied to a plant, trademarkable? That'd be like saying I can't name a distro "Willow" because there's a movie called "Willow." Or maybe I just have no idea what trademarks are all about (I'll admit I'm pretty ignorant about such things).
Better a Frenchman than a Yank.
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.
Mandrake is the common name for the plant Mandragora, whose roots, because their curious bifurcation cause them to have a semblance to the human figure (male & female), have long been used in witchcraft. It is alleged by adherents of the dark arts that when the plant is pulled from the ground, it shrieks in pain. Supposedly, this shriek is able to kill or deafen an unprotected human; the occult literature includes complex directions for harvesting a mandrake root in relative safety.
The Mandrake is a member of the Solanaceae (or Nightshade) family.
Other uses of this term include:
* Mandrake Linux
* Mandragoras, familiar demons (mandrakes)
* Mandrake, a comedic play written by Niccolo Machiavelli in 1518
* Leon Mandrake, magician (1911 - 1993)
* Mandrake the Magician, comic strip character
* Mandrake (publishers)
I kind of like that idea. Instead of just a distro on a CD, you get CD after CD of partial and bug-ridden previous versions of the final product.
This being such a Linux-loving community, I'm surprised that a link to Mandrake the magician wasn't placed in the news story itself to give it a good hard slashdoting.
Rename the distro to dleob043mv0934984mswkjy498x98c79s432kj43h987ckjhdf , and never worry about a name change again. ;)
If I recall the wording on the packaging correctly:
"M&M and the letter 'M' are trademarks of the M&M Mars Company"
Cheers,
ark0
name "Mandrake Linux" still infringe on this Mandrake the Magician? And what about the plant as somebody said? That's just dumb. Nobody is going to confuse "Mandrake Linux" and "Mandrake the Magician". People just sue over this crap for money, they don't really care about anything else. -JB
That should fix the problem.
People who disagree with you are not automatically evil, greedy, or stupid.
We still have 6 weeks till April! ....Oh this is serious? What the hell!
Someone needs to push the red button because this world is crap.
got any other links?
They name it Nightshade? Mandrake is part of the family of nightshade plants, so that would not only seem appropraite but a promotion.
There's a growing sense that even if The Future comes,
most of us won't be able to afford it.
-- Lemmy
Sure, give the domain names to a company who will host them on some ricketty server. Some day those servers will get slashdotted, presumably after Mandrake the Linux distro changes it's name and is announced on slashdot. Mandrake the Magician will be helpless to get them back up and running so the 5 people who care can find some info on an obscure comic character.
Now, if Mandrake the Linux distro had used a different logo/mascot with no resemblance to Mandrake the Magician, would there be a problem? Some cute combination of a drake reading a man page? it would then be the Mandrake. I can see how a penguin dressed up as a magician could be construed as a trademark violation in some way (it's not the most obsurd trademark violation to come up). But the name "Mandrake" + different industry + different logo would be hard to make the same claim against.
FireDrake -- the logo could be pretty cool, too.
Lacking <sarcasm> tags,
no more Manrape jokes...
According to google transformations involving english, french, german, and italian, what you MEANT to say was: "Whore Hahaaaa stupid gave the Karma, you see That thing the saw is obtained?"
Don't blame Durga. I voted for Centauri.
Haven't said that in ages.
..and what's happening?
Is the SCO suing for local variables' names?
The BBC would be all over them like white on rice.
:)
Heck, they oughta just call it "Rassilon" and at least get some more press out of it
Come to the University of Mars! Classes starting soon!
Isn't Mandrake the name of a human duck superhero creature ?
Tired of being "punished" by the Slashdot $rtbl since 2002. I'm now over at http://soylentnews.org/ .
Drakedash Linux?
Dashfox Linux?
Firedrake Linux?
Manfox Linux?
Drakefox Dashux?
It's France, right?
White Flag Linux.
"Even Prophets don't know everything"
Abe: Would it be alright if I just lay down in the street and died?
Lawyer: Hmm . . . Yes, that would be acceptable.
What?
Although, I should warn you, I just patented the procedure of resolving copyright issues by changing the suffix of a product to "fox".
But I found a working link to a Mandrake character: Mandrake the Magician. Dating from 1934 (!).
So, why can't they come to an agreement to pay King a few pennies out of every sale? Everyone wins, Mandrake-Linux keeps its good name and King makes a buck or two.
Manroot!
http://alternatives.rzero.com/
eggstasy,
Your signature is broken.
fascism Audio pronunciation of Fascism ( P ) Pronunciation Key (fshzm)
n.
1. often Fascism
1. A system of government marked by centralization of authority under a dictator, stringent socioeconomic controls, suppression of the opposition through terror and censorship, and typically a policy of belligerent nationalism and racism.
2. A political philosophy or movement based on or advocating such a system of government.
2. Oppressive, dictatorial control.
revisionism Audio pronunciation of revisionist ( P ) Pronunciation Key (r-vzh-nzm)
n.
1. Advocacy of the revision of an accepted, usually long-standing view, theory, or doctrine, especially a revision of historical events and movements.
2. A recurrent tendency within the Communist movement to revise Marxist theory in such a way as to provide justification for a retreat from the revolutionary to the reformist position.
Astronauts in weightlessness of pixilated space, exchange graffiti with a disembodied race. - Rush
Mandark, but that's probably trademarked too.
LongTail SSH Brute Force analysis tool is here!
Mandark.
Of course, the project's REAL name would be "susan." And it'll have hippie parents.
Where was I?
no
as a duck hunter, I know that a drake is a male duck, and a suzie is a female. I assumed that mandrake and suse were references to male and female penguins. given the number of drak and drak references in mandrake, I assume they keep the name something similar to drake.
... David Blaine Linux! and their new logo could be a penguin that sealed itself inside a block of ice with some college girls standing outside and flashing him!
Is it just me, or does open source have an incredibly difficult time naming stuff? Red Hat's distribution becomes Fedora Core, Mozilla Phoenix becomes Firebird then Mozilla Firebird and now Firefox, and now this... I know most open source projects are started by people just tinkering for their own ends, but I'd suggest greater care in choosing a name, because all this name changing will result in nothing but confusion for the target audience.
"We are all in the gutter, but some of us are looking at the stars." - Oscar Wilde
Some dude who owns MikeDrakeSoft.com is about to get a cease and desist letter.
Known As Mandrake
:)
sounds like a good name
09 F9 11 02 9D 74 E3 5B D8 41 56 C5 63 56 88 C0
I never liked the name anyway. Even less now that I know it was yet another trademark ripoff. What is it that makes many Open Source projects think that they're immune to trademark infringement laws? And to have the audacity to try to make a profit off a company/product with a name which arguably infringes on someone else's trademark. Why even take the chance??? Just take the time and effort to think up and research a nice, user-friendly, original name and avoid wasting time and money later in court from the get go! What silliness...
For this dispute, Mandrake is NOT a generic word. The term generic (or the other "categories" of trademarks, i.e. Descriptive, Suggestive, Arbitrary, and Fanciful) refers to the word in the context of the product which it is used to market. So, for example, if they were selling mandrake plants, the trademark "Mandrake" would be generic and not get any trademark protection. That's why MS lost in the states with "Windows." They were selling a computer product that makes windows. That's it, so the mark is generic and they don't get any protection under US trademark law.
However, things change drastically when you move into a different product area. The word mandrake is totally meaningless in the context of magicians and comic books. The court would probably decide that the trademark is "arbitrary", meaning a word that holds an understood meaning but applied to a product that bears no relation to its meaning. Arbitrary marks qualify for maximum protection under trademark law. That's why Mandrake Linux might be in trouble here, especially if their little star logo is similar to something used by Mandrake the Magician.
Tuck
Tuck's Journal.
we should hold a naming contest to come up with a new name... ManHat ManSuse Manoppix Mandark -- /me leikie
Manilow
ManMeat
Sig Follows: "Suppose you were an idiot. And suppose you were a member of Congress. But I repeat myself." -- Mark Twain
Seems like the obvious replacement name.
What about : "Le Petomane" ?
:
Very same dressing as Mandrake the Magician, and also some magical touch
Le Petomane
Votez ecolo : Chiez dans l'urne !
*anything* We will have to use pwgen to create names for products
In the free world the media isn't government run; the government is media run.
Mandrake the Penguin
There's no denying that the original inspiration for the name, the design of the Mandrake Linux mascot was derived from the old comics character. But Mandrakesoft has steered away from that lately, and I'd think that if they dropped any remaining references to magic in their marketing (including the star symbol), and argued the genericness of "mandrake" apart from those references, they should (by any reasonable standard) be allowed to continue using the "Mandrake" name.
http://alternatives.rzero.com/
How about: Frankensoft?
"Gold, Frankensoft, and Myrrh: Heralding the next generation of Operating Systems."
For butt-headed magician. Nobody could take offense from that.
damn, I hit submit without giving examples of some of the superb and unique product names acheivable with pwgen.
Such gems as;
"jahL0pho", "ko8jahNg" or "Phab3vah" are virtually guaranteed to not have lawsuits demanding that you change them!
In the free world the media isn't government run; the government is media run.
After some outfit called HiMandrake, who claims to represent Mandrake, made me take down my eBay auctions for Mandrake CDs for trademark violations and supposedly violating the GPL (??????) I find this rather sweet.
Mandrake and Lothar are standing by their car, which has a flat tire. Lothar asks Mandrake why he doesn't just fix the tire with his magicks. Mandrake replies, that he can hypnotize Lothar into believing that the tire is fixed and that he could probably even hypnotize himself to believe that the tire is fixed but that he has no idea how to hypnotize the TIRE to believe it is fixed.
Add my vote to the cathegory that says "has nothing to do with comics" please.
Sigs for Nerds. Sigs that Matter.
The only thing French endorsed by the US Congress!
However, for a reasonable figure I am sure MS will allow you to take it off their hands.
...
There will probably be a clause stating it should NEVER run on Linux though it can
...and call their distro "Butthead Astronomer".
Sorry , but the name is Mannix, Joe Mannix, private investigator.
It was high time somebody sued the Linux distributor. I am an avid fan of Mandrake the magician comics (King features). And since the death of Lee Falk (the author), its become a very rare thing to find. There aren't many websites on information about Mandrake (the magician). And whenever I tried googling for it, I found 100s of irrelevant links leading to information about the Linux OS! Similarly, whenever I search for another of King character (by Lee Falk), Phantom; I get loads of junk on Phantom of the Opera and other irrelevant stuff......Gawd!! Let us fans have some peace, how would you feel if Microsoft introduces a new OS named "Lord of the Rings" or "Spiderman"?? THe first 25-30 pages of google search will reveal only BS! Thanks to King comics for protecting the great work by someone as great as Lee Falk.
WTF? If some other company registered the mark, it's still limited to the particular description (supported by actual usage). This seems weird. What does Mandrake the Magician have to do with software?
I said it before, and I say it again:
No way I'm going to enter bills for Mandrake Club Services from a French company into my books.
I do not want to explain to the accountant and the taxman that Mandrake Club is not a parisian brothel.
For gods sake, now condemned to change its name please choose a professional, if boring, one.
If it wasn't for us "Yanks" the national language of France would be German!!
Here's one for all of you Frogs...
You are the President of the United States.
U.S. Scientists have discovered that a large meteor is headed towards the earth. They have calculated that it will strike France in just two days, at approximately 2:30am Washington time.
The meteor is large enough to completely wipe France from the face of the earth forever.
France and the United Nations have requested that the United States send all available ships and aircraft to help evacuate the country. Among the ships and planes you could be sending are many that are presently being used to fight the war on terror overseas.
As the President, you must decide: Do you...
A) Stay up late on the night of the impact to watch the coverage live?
or
B) Tape it and watch it in the morning?
How about BHM, short for butt-headed magician. Of course, then Apple would sue them.
The only reason we have the rights we have is that people just like us died to gain those rights. -- Cheerio Boy
There ya go. New name already found.
This trademark infringment is ridiculous. Its no wonder the comic strip chose this as its name.
Lest you forget. Windows TM
Help fight continental drift.
I remember watching a few episodes of a cartoon series called "Defenders of the Earth" on TV back in the late eighties or early nineties... Apparently it was a spinoff of the Flash Gordon cartoon series and it featured several heroes in the main cast, one of them being Mandrake the Magician.
"Oooh, does that mean we get to kick some puffy white mad zionist butt?"
Mandix?
-CC -- Bringing the Ring of Fire to you.
DON'T suggest Man-chowder
Sounds similar and for an added bonus the logo can be a duck baring it's arse in the direction of a magician.
Boffoonery - downloadable Comedy Benefit for Bletchley Park
DrakeLinux sounds just as good. Not sure if the Penguin ever got a name but that would fit it :)
*dodges stale baguettes and dead snails* I'll shut up, seeing how I run the distro in question :)
I didn't think the house band in Hell would play this badly.
Man, I tell you I read that too fast, and I got "copulation" out of "capitulation".
Somehow, it makes even more sense substituted into your sentance.
Womandrake? Girldrake maybe? Or perhaps a bit more classy: Ladydrake. Galdrake...
Please don't...
Pour l'heure, Mandrake a fait appel, suspendant le jugement et preservant ainsi sa marque et ses noms de domaines.
Is more accurately translated as:
At now, your ass is peeling, hesitating to decide while keeping the distinct marks placed there when your head was shoved deeply.
What happened to the whole thing about Trademarks not infringing across different markets.. A Comic Strip and a Software Company are significantly different markets.. Now if mandrakesoft were to start making a mandrake linux comic strip then the "mandrake the magician" would have something to complain about..
Step 1: Search Trademarks DB: for Fedora
Step 2: Note lack of registration for Red Hat Inc.
Step 3: Create 'Fedora the Magician'
Step 4: Sue
Step 5: ???
Step 6: PROFIT!
Gamers Europe - Gaming News. Reviews.
First of all, they did not "loose" the case. You can "lose" a case in court, and you can "loose" a ribbon tied around a gift, but you cannot "loose" a case.
Secondly, Mandrake was not originally named after the plant. It was named after the wizard. In fact, the first few Mandrake logos featured a wizard. This has since been replaced by a star, but the top hat/wand theme persists in some Mandrake dialogs. Disney has no trademark on the term "Mickey" outside the cartoon mouse world (Mickey Rooney, slip him the mickey, etc), and yet if I came out with a Linux distro named "Mickey Linux", I could be infringing on that trademark if I used a mouse logo, or a mouse in a wizard hat and some brooms.
Mandrake lost this case because their name very clearly derives from the wizard, and NOT the plant. If they had a logo of strange rooty plants from the beginning, they would have won the case.
"Also, the guy who first used the name has been dead for quite some time. It's from the old pre-christian scandinavian sagas originally"
The original work was "Voluspa" by Sven "Snorri" Sturlusson. Ol Snorri had trouble keeping a wife, or even roommates: the nocturnal noise was too loud.
Don't blame Durga. I voted for Centauri.
sorry, but if it wasn't for the Canucks pushing further in hours than the yanks did in weeks it would of been the aformentioned german thing.
;)
besides the is no counting the fact that even though Hitler had copious amounts of charisma he still was a military idiot.
flame at will
seems to have misplaced his
It will first be called Phoenix Linux (and you know the rest ...)
theefer
Now it looks like they will be forced to get rid of that name after all. Still, I feel sorry for them as name changes cost money that is better spent elsewhere.
And btw yes, I like repeating myself over and over again.
Flourescent (adj): smelling like ground wheat.
Leon Mandrake was the magician that "Mandrake the Magician" was actually based upon. So it seems kind of odd that a character ripped off from a real life contemporary entertainer would go and sue a totally unrelated product for usage. Check out some history here and search for Mandrake.
You're reading Slashdot. Of course you like Linux and pc hardware
Apple computer settled with Apple the music company (ever heard of The Beatles?)
Since they did totally different stuff, they settled AS LONG AS ONE DID NOT INTERFERE WITH THE OTHER (something that eventually happened with iTunes)
how long until
But if it weren't for the French, we'd still be part of Great Britain. Arguments like this are pointless, because the two countries have helped each other out numerous times.
Well, it's a good thing Gopher is dead, or we'd all be fighting over Archie, Veronica, and Jughead.
I say any time a conflict like this comes up, we take the first sylable of the original name and replace the last with fox. Eventually, all open source stuff will be instantly recognizable as such.
FireFox
ManFox
RedFox
PostFox SQL
SquirrelFox
Mandrakesoft is not using the likeness of Mandrake the magician, nor a Mandrake the magician logo, to sell.
The star logo they always use drove home the magician connection to me.
Don't blame Durga. I voted for Centauri.
Mandrake, French publisher of the Linux distribution of the same name, was ordered by the Commercial Court of Paris to pay euro 70,000 to US companies Hearst Holdings and King Feature Syndicate, owners of the trademark "Mandrake the Magician" and editors of the comic strip of the same name.
These companies filed suit in France for "brand dilution". The commercial court forbade the French company the use of its name and pressed Mandrake to transfer their domain names to the US companies. This judgement could prove to be a fatal blow for the French distributor, as its commercial income is earned solely from the distribution of the same name.
Mandrake immediately filed an appeal causing the judgement to be suspended and allowing it to continue use of the brand and domain names.
A previous court decision concerning the logo also ruled in favour of the two US companies. As a result the French company had to revise its logo.
Script kiddies? It sounds like an evil superhero.
Quack, quack.
Perhaps McBride & Co were influenced by the attempts of Anheuser-Busch, (mfrs of mass marketed beer),to obliterate a much older Budejovicky Budvar, a European brewer, (of quality pilsner lager), by means of laws suits.
/ /worldofbeer.com/brightbeer/budvar0.htmlw ww.protzonbeer.com/documents/27660-002031. html
d et ail/21
http://www.bsw.com/articles/beerBuds.htm
http:
http://
As for the beer quality issue, opinions vary, (I drink Budvar. I'd rather drink water than "Bud".
Theres a discussion at:
http://www.mylifeisbeer.com/beer/bottles/bottle
My hyperlinks aren't worth the paper they're printed on.
Goatse Linux - Filling the biggest holes in your operation
Schlafly Linux - We never go down
Jackson Linux - Great for Kids
Vaigara Linux - Uptimes Like You Have Never Seen
Actually, you can "loosen" a ribbon, but it won't be the blue ribbon if you "lose" the race which you probably "lost" because your wheels were "loose." But, yeah, this stuff bugs me, too.
If its the tradename Mandrake then couldn't they easily switch to using strictly 'Linux Mandrake' (its already being used). The original article is in french and I didn't see many specifics in the press release..
Quack, quack.
They should let their user's decide via a contest what the name should be.
Um, don't forget to run the winning label through google first :)
Steve
There is a company named Microsoft, wich is perfectly fine for me, producing a whole range of straight named apps such as
- Windows
- Outlook
- Word
- Explorer
- and so on...
but if you pick an uncommon, creative name such as Phoenix, Mandrake, or Lindows (yeah, it's not original but it's more of a brandname than a plain word as Windows) you get sued all over the place. What is wrong here? Maybe one should simply name products the easy way:
- Desk (a GUI)
- Play (a Musicplayer for Linux)
- Surf (A Webbrowser)
- Paint (A graphical....DuH!)
cu,
Lispy
I claim IP infringement!
Sig Follows: "Suppose you were an idiot. And suppose you were a member of Congress. But I repeat myself." -- Mark Twain
See Mandrake This is like United Syndicates suing Planters for use of the name "Peanuts"!
"Freedom means freedom for everybody" -- Dick Cheney
...perhaps they should change it to FireDrake?
Seen any BadMarketing lately?
I was being generous. "Loose" is, in modern English, not even a verb, it's an adjective. Nevertheless, there are some archaic forms where "loose" is in fact a transitive verb. It can mean either "to loosen" as with the ribbon or "to set free" as in "loose the dogs of war" (Henry V, if I'm not mistaken).
I hear that name should be available now.
Why not a little investment in checking out the history of Mandrake Linux? As has been said in the comments multiple times, Mandrake Linux was named after Mandrake the Magician (or they were at least aware of their namesake) - this is shown by their logos over the years, the latest of which clearly bears relation to "magic". Personally, I think they should be required to change their logo, but not their name. The intention of the naming of a product bears no relation to the potential for customer confusion.
God, you furries just don't give up!
Donovan: Atlanta was a city, landlocked,
Hundreds of miles from the area we now call the Atlantic Ocean.
Yet so desperate the city's desire for tourism
That they moved offshore, becoming an island and an even bigger Delta hub
Until the city overdeveloped and it started to sink.
Knowing their fate, the quality people ran away:
Ted Turner, Hank Aaron, Jeff Foxworthy, the guy who invented Coca Cola, the magician
And the other so-called gods of our legends, though gods they were,
And also Jane Fonda was there.
The others chose to remain behind on their porches with their rifles
And one day evolving to mermaids and sing and dance and ring in the new.
Everyone: Hail Atlanta!
Isn't mandrake a plant? A root to be exact? Couldn't they just say we are named afetr 'mandrake root'. Or is that self defeating in that mandrake root is a commonly known magical ingredient again tying the name to mandrake and magic. ;p
You can find mandrake in the Bible. That predates any cartoons, I think.
What the fuck? How can they call themselves Mandrake? This is purely spoiling my childhood memories. I am glad no OS called Tintin or asterix exists. Sue the hell outta them bastards.
Oh my, I just noticed the tagline. That made my day. :)
Geoff "Mandrake" Harrison
Some Random UI Hacker
Mandrake, the french software publisher of the eponymous Linux distribution, has been found guilty of trademark infringement by the TGI (tribunal de grande instance ~= superior court, though IANAL), and ordered to pay 70,000 euros to Hearst Holdings and King Feature Syndicate, the american companies owning the rights to "Mandrake the Wizard", and publishers of a comic book by the same name. The verdict also forbids the company from using the name, and orders Mandrake to transfer its domain names over to the american companies. This could be a fatal blow to the french publisher, whose core business rests entirely on its Linux distribution. For now, Mandrake has appealed the decision and the verdict has been stayed, allowing it to keep its domain names. The french company had already lost a previous decision to the americans regarding its logo, and has been ordered to alter it.
What's it gonna be this week? :)
cLive ;-)
-- Trinity in high heels carrying a whip: The donimatrix - there is no spoonerism
Microsoft is forcing the 12-year-old wxWindows project to change its name as well, on account of claimed infringement on its Windows(R) trademark. Probably as a defensive maneuver in its ongoing suit against Lin---s.com.
how about another name out of Dr Strangelove? Muffley, Strangelove.... heck, Peter Sellers Linux has a good ring to it.
by calling it ManSoft? ;-)
Quack, quack.
Doesn't it sound a bit weird to anyone that all of a sudden we see a mass generation of trials against linux companies/contributors/users? I mean, first the SCO story, still not finished, then the licenses for XFree86 and Apache, and now Mandrake Linux is going to have to change names... How much further will this go? Could this all be coordinated somehow to make Opensource illegal, or improper for use in a bunch of countries? Who's next at court for having a linux distribution on his pc?
---- I am certain of only one thing : I know nothing else.
After many years "underground," the spirit of William Randolph Hearst appeared today to file suit against "MandrakeSoft," citing copyright infringement and loss of income.
Hearst's ghost proclaimed, "how am I supposed to support myself in the afterlife, in the manner to which I have become accustomed, with comic-strip seekers being needlessly diverted to operating system software? I have residuals to think about! This is almost as bad as that communist Orson Welles' attempt to smear me with that hack film he made."
Hearst's current landlord, one Mr. Satan (not to be confused with the hockey player of the same name), declined to comment on the allegations.
"A generation which ignores history has no past and no future." -- Robert Heinlein
How about changing it to Manduck?
I don't know why this was modded offtopic, because it's a valid point. The grandparent poster makes a mistake in that industry-specific trademarks for limited use are awarded only when the mark is a generic word not related to that industry in question. If the mark is not a generic word, then I don't believe there is such a restriction. I am assuming this is true for France also.
So, no, you cannot make a "Mickey Mouse Linux" or "Disney Linux" without violating those trademarks. I'm not sure what Mandrake is in French other than the trademarked magician, I mean if it's a common word or not.
Thank you for playing.
This issue is a bit more complicated than you think.
No, it's Mesmer.
No, it's Merlin.
No, it's Abraxas.
No, it's Copperfield.
No, it's... Phoenix | Firebird | Firefox | "has it changed already?" all over again...
Customer: "I'd like Drake Linux."
...
ClulessSalesDrone: "Ok, we have the duck linux. Here's your copy."
Customer: "This isn't Drake Linux, this is Turbo Linux."
ClulessSalesDrone: "What do you mean? It has a male duck on the box!"
McFly777
- - -
"What do people mean when they say the computer went down on them?" -Marilyn Pittman
The cases aren't really the same though. Mandrake (the distro) has traded using symbols etc that could relate to Mandrake the magician and magic generally. While comics and software are two different areas there is (and especially was) a common theme used in the branding of both Mandrakes. Similarly if I were to write a comic where the superhero could clone things I don't think I'd get away with calling the comic "Xerox" as my character would clearly be trading off Xerox's reputation in copying.
A slightly different case in Australia surrounds the Harry Potter name as used on clothing in Australia. Time Warner lost that one in part because the clothing brand name came first and also because people wouldn't percieve there to be a link between the clothing range and the Harry Potter character.
Boffoonery - downloadable Comedy Benefit for Bletchley Park
That my friend was the bad combination of a slip of the old "o" finger, and no proofreading.
As a public service, next time I hit preview I will proofread the the title in addition to the content.
With the US going to hell, and fast, I'd much rather be German than American! And remember some people called "russians"? They did a hell lot more fighting that a certain other bunch of fatties, who like to take credit, where none is due...
Hmm, that's not a terribly good manual translation, is it? :] I suck as a French student, but I can manage at least a few more bits...
:P' quickie translation somewhere below)
:/ There isn't a good way to preserve the original that I can find (then again, I'm not exactly a great translator...). The point is that the two companies have sued (apparently more than once?) and seem to have won. Yeah, from what I know, France has some pretty backwards IP laws :/ (SFAIK, it's not based on any concept of 'customer confusion', if it were, the plaintiffs could not prevail).
:/
... (since Butthead Astronomer is already taken)
(Yes, I did the 'Fish tastes bad
"Detournement de marque" isn't so hard to translate--it's called "trademark dilution" in english (same concept, different laws).
The 70,000 is Euros. I know that slashdot just snips the Euro symbol.
When they say "editor" I think that publisher would be a better translation, in this context.
I understand your pain of trying to fix the syntax in the first and the last sentences
The last sentence makes little sense to me. I think it's talking about an appeal, but I'm not clear on it. When they say "Les Francais" (literally, the French), I think they mean the French courts, but they might mean Mandrake's use of the logo in France. The idiomatic use of it escapes me.
Anyhow, it's clear that the court has put forth some sort of injunction and we'll see how it goes. I certainly don't know enough about French law to speculate, but I'll just point out that I wouldn't be surprised if we suddenly wind up with Mandrake under a new name
Wonder if they can find something like "Buttheaded Publishers"
Shall we go with
Mike Rowe Linux
then?
Mandows perhaps?
Hey Mandrake guys,
Watch out!
I don't know no Paris talk, but you gotta watch out for King Features so they don't get you by the pate de foie gras again.
In particular, avoid the following King Features names when branding:
Anything 3G, Baby Blues, Barney Google, Snuffy Smith, Beetle Bailey, Betty Boop, Bizarro, Blondie, Buckles, CowParade, Curtis, Dennis the Menace, Flash Gordon, Funky Winkerbean, Hagar the Horrible, Hazel, Henry, Judge Parker, Katzenjammer Kids, Mallard Fillmore, Mark Trail, Marvin, Mary Worth, Moose, Molly, Mother Goose, The Phantom, Popeye, Prince Valiant, Redeye, Rex Morgan, Sally Forth, Sam, Silo, Sherman, Slylock Fox, Spiderman, Steve Roper, Mike Nomad, Tiger, Trudy, Tumbleweeds, Zippy, Zits.
Merci beaucoup.
There was this big bald black guy in a leopard skin loincloth hangin' round for a while but I think he was a friend of my wife.
Does this mean I can't buy Mandrake root at the herbal health shop anymore.
Is this a sign that the popularity of Linux is growing since more people seem to be aware of the names of Linux distributions?
Actually the name change,is a feeble attemt to hide from creditors,and escape from their besmirched past.
Hm. This might grow.
:
:)
Man, that's going to be rough on
The botannical classification system. Linnaeus will have to rework the dammn thing again. Bother!
A lot of basic stuff related to history, literature, farming, society, biochemistry, farmacology, healing in general, alchemy, witchcraft and sorcery, gardening....
Funny. Being the simple unsofisticated clod that we is, I'd a thought that *they* had prior art, knowledge, use... everything.
Except, maybe, registering - in one of the 200-odd countries of the world, holding 1/30th of the population - the sound already in use for a coupla thousand years ( in other places and political units, even ) to designate a botanical root used for decorating, healing, poisoning and "tripping".
Oh, and that gal : Mother Nature. As far as I recall, its *her* project, copyright, and trade secret.
Well, nevermind, I suppose. A Rose... and so on.
Anyone care to make up a list of names for "Mandragora" in the rest of the world's languages ? Personally, "Mandragore" realy does sound *much* cooler !
Inventing a new word sroucks!!
(which means it rocks, yet it sucks - or something in between)
Settle by agreeing not to use magic themed imagery. Have a picture of a Mandrake plant.
Isn't mandrake also a root used by witches. may or may not be a real root but it probably pre-date the comic.
I thought mandrake was a root with "medicinal"
properties, kinda like rhino horn.
.
Go and catch a falling star,
Get with child a mandrake root,
Tell me, where all past years are,
Or who cleft the Devil's foot,
Teach me to hear mermaids singing,
Or to keep off envy's stinging,
And find
What wind
Serves to advance an honest mind.
So, the name is kind of a lame joke. Mandrake root, get it? But I'm a fan of the metaphysical poets so, I'm all for it.
It's funny the parallels between Apple (records vs. computer) and this case. A Mandrake is a plant too (Mandragora officinarum), and as in the Apple case the vegetable in question applied to two businesses in completely different markets, and so no confusion was going to arise. Notice Apple has branded there music service iTunes, not anyting vaguely related to small-a-apples.
Post may contain irony: discontinue use if experiencing mood swings, nausea or elevated blood pressure.
According to Merriam-Webster.
I seem to recall that the "male magician" sense of mandrake is an English word as well, though I could be mistake about that. Merriam-Webster is not exactly the world's most authoritative dictionary.
When all you have is a hammer, every problem starts to look like a thumb.
I see lots of people stating "but in the mandrake logo there's a star, it's an obvious rip-off or something about the old penguin" etc... If you were trying to figure out how to fix up your penguin or logo, or what-have-you and had to incorporate "mandrake" into the look, what would be the logical choice? Cover it with dirt and branches? No, based on mandrakes association with "witchcraft" and "dark arts" you would probably dress him like a wizard or magician. I hate seeing a *free* OS being picked on like this. Maybe some aspects do resemble "Mandrake the Magician", but don't they equally resemble magic or mysticism on the same generic level? The cartoon was not original anyhow, it was originally an actual living magician. I would think he (likely deceased) is the only one with a rightful say in the matter and would probably be a bit more torked about the comic strip than the OS logo.
What do they put out? The Little Rascals?
this sig deleted by another sig
Yeah, and the association between Mandrake and Magic is only a few thousands years old.
this exact issue was brought up on mail-lists & newsgroups... my how time fly's...
-- Exposing the hype of Gentoo zealots. Modded into the ground to suppress opinion.
Do you think they'll be suing J. K. Rowling next for mentioning using Mandrake in Magic in her books?
This signature used to contain a cute kitty virus with ansii art. Please set the slashdot editors on fire. Thank you