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Imminent Mandrake Name Change?

Posted by CmdrTaco on from the geoff-will-be-so-happy dept.

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.

9 of 526 comments (clear)

  1. come on! by Chuck+Bucket · · Score: 5, Insightful

    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!
    1. Re:come on! by Hittite+Creosote · · Score: 5, Insightful
      do your homework before settling on a name

      Uh... from my apalling understanding of French and the not much better automatic translators, I get the distinct impression this isn't another software company claiming the name. This is a cartoon strip. And it appears the owners of the copyright are claiming complete and exclusive use of the name of a plant, which has been used for centuries.

    2. Re:come on! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Insightful

      Yeah, anyone starting a software project online better run trademark searches in all 200+ countries because one of them might have some little company just waiting to sue you.

      While you're at it, better make sure that you check all the trademarks for all the products, in case you run into someone in some IP-backwater country who hasn't been brought into the modern age of realistic trademark protection (ie, based on product confusion). Really, who is going to confuse Mandrake the Linux Distribution with Mandrake the Magician?

      Next thing you know, Linux will be forced to change its name because someone's great, great, great grandfather in Lubineria trademarked "linux" as a brand of horseshoe and there trademarks never expire.

  2. Not the only use of that word by Just+Some+Guy · · Score: 4, Insightful

    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?
  3. Re:Remember Mobilix? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Insightful

    Does it really matter?

    A cartoon is not competing in the same field of business as an operating system. You typically own the trademark of a name (what does copyright have to do with this anyway?) for a specific field of business.

    For instance, Ford would be automative-related, but they couldn't sue over the name "Ford Prefect" being used in a science-fiction book that has nothign to do with the automotive industry.

  4. Interesting by DoubleD · · Score: 5, Insightful
    Dictionary.com definition

    mandrake ( P ) Pronunciation Key (mndrk)
    n.
    1. A southern European plant (Mandragora officinarum) having greenish-yellow flowers and a branched root. This plant was once believed to have magical powers because its root resembles the human body.
    2. The root of this plant, which contains the poisonous alkaloid hyoscyamine. Also called mandragora.


    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."
  5. Domain names only? by donutz · · Score: 4, Insightful

    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.

  6. Then how about by Bendebecker · · Score: 4, Insightful

    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
  7. Ok, explain this to me... by Lispy · · Score: 5, Insightful

    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