Linux Trademark Protection In Australia

robyannetta writes "Australian companies providing Linux products and services may soon have to pay up to $A5000 a year to licence the operating system name (warning: Registration Required), if the patents agency IP Australia grants a trademark application it is reviewing. About 90 companies with products, services or websites containing the word "Linux" recently received letters of demand from Perth lawyer Jeremy Malcolm. Acting for user group Linux Australia Inc, he asks recipients to sign statements saying their use of the word is subject to the group's licence agreement, which has fees of $A200 to $A5000 under a successful trademark application."

Comments

Appropriate phrasing

[Kelson]

...may soon have to pay up to $A5000 a year to licence the operating system name (warning: Registration Required) [Emphasis added]

So you have to register to read about how people may have to register...

That's not so bad...

[Pedrito]

He's not charging all that much for use of the trademark. I don't usually see monetary figures in hex, though. I guess that's just a Linus thing. But $41,472 - $42,240 seems pretty reasonable.

Re:Let's just have him shot

[tomhudson]

Why not just put them all in a room and have them sit through a year's worth of lectures from RMS.

1. Darl "Linux contains code stoen from us" McBride and Co.
2. Jeff "I want to buy the linux kernel for $50,000.00" Merkey
3. Jeremy "the Linux kernel already infringes various software patents" Malcolm (the quack lawyer pushing this scheme)

Any other candidates?

Re:Doesn't seem to be in the spirit of openness

[jred]

Hey! What's the idea? linuxchix.com isn't a pr0n site!!!1!!

Get my hopes up for nothing. I've got points & I'm modding you "-1 Misleading"...

Re:parent is a troll

[JJahn]

Duh...that's not a question! Try something like "go fuck yourself?" and then it will go through fine.

Re:PANIC NOT., THERES MORE TO THE STORY!!!

[schon]

Umm, you *do* realize who you're correcting, right?