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Linux Trademark Protection In Australia

Posted by ScuttleMonkey on from the decease-and-resist dept.

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."

4 of 376 comments (clear)

  1. Alright, so what happens...? by agentkhaki · · Score: 0, Redundant

    Previous posts seem to indicate the guy is a crackpot scumbag.

    That aside, what are Australian laws regarding things like 'prior art?' Would they be applicable?

    --
    Ack!
  2. What a quack by imunfair · · Score: 0, Redundant

    So he's demanding people to agree to pay him license fees of $200-5000? What would their motivation be? And how many of these people does he have to bribe to sign so he can swindle the rest?

  3. Conversion. by FrankieBoy · · Score: 1, Redundant

    ... up to $A5000 a year ...

    So that works out to about...50 pence?

  4. Re:at least whores give you something for your mon by tomhudson · · Score: 0, Redundant
    All right - lawyer and whore jokes time :-) Thank you for the inspiration ... Q. What's the difference between a whore and a lawyer? A. A whore will stop fucking you once you're dead. Q. Why is a whore more honest than a lawyer? A. At least a whore's up front about who's getting fucked up the ass. 10 reasons why a whore better than a lawyer (or so I've heard :-)?
    1. You know how much its' gonna cost up front;
    2. It ain't gonna hurt - unless you're into that sort of stuff;
    3. 15 minutes with a lawyer will put a terrible load on your mind - 15 minutes with a whore will let you blow your load and relieve your mind;
    4. After being with a whore, a quick shower will remove that sleezy feeling;
    5. Your friends will look at you strangely if you tell them you paid a lawyer for sex;
    6. If you're really, really desperate, you can always take a whore home to meet the parents ...
    7. Nobody ever fantasizes about doing it with 5 lawyers at once
    8. You can always explain the incident with the whore to your friends by saying "well, she had big tits";
    9. Its not as dangerous to catch your spouse cheating on you with a whore;
    10. Lawyers don't swallow even when they're sucking you dry.