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Linux Trademark Rejected in Australia
daria42 writes "Linus Torvalds' bid to have the word 'Linux' trademarked in Australia has failed, with the local intellectual property regulator sending his lawyer a vitriolic letter deriding efforts to provide evidence the trademark application was legitimate. In the letter, the regulator points out that information from Wikipedia and Google used by the lawyer to support the trademark application is simply not effective in making the case for a trademark to be registered."
I'm a small business woman and in order to control costs, I have looked
at open source software as an alternative to MS. As a non-technical
person, it has been a very frustrating journey.
First of all, the term "free" seems misleading. It seems that you can
aquire a "starter" version of a Linux distro that is not production
ready for free. But if you want want that is tested and stable, one
needs to purchase an expensive yearly maitenance fee for each computer
it is installed on. My understanding is that one can aquire something
called "source" to the expensive linux distro version, but that the
source doesn't actually run the computer.
When researching, I read about "Redhat Linux" (sic ?). It seems that
they allowed one to download the complete "working" version for a while
but then they did a switchero and hid the working version download and
made it available to paying customers only. To pacify the rest, they
gave a "starter" ("Fredora" (sic?)) version to them. It seems they cut
off affordable support to those with the working version and replaced
it with something more expensive than MS.
My IT consultant put FireFox on my computer and it looks like another
switchero is in the works. With the members founding a corporation, it
looks like they will start charging for the good version and leave the
a "starter" version for the non-paying customers.
So is the business model of open-source to bait people with free
software when their software isn't as good as the commercial offerings,
and when it does become good or they get enough people on board, do
they just jack up the prices as much as possible? Seems to me this is
a poor business model, and I can't understand why a saleman recommended
it to me as a way to keep costs down. I would rather go with a vendor
where I can expect things to stay the same and a vendor that has a
clear business plan. That way they won't just change the rules halfway
like open source seems to.
Maybe it is a wrong impression, but that is what a good business woman
like myself sees.
I'm a fairly technical user, not a tech god by any stretch of the imagination, but I know my way around. I know how to forward ports on my router, I do all my own XVID rips from Vdub, I can install most Linux distros without a problem, and I'm damned proficient at packages like Photoshop and Illustrator. In addition, I'm a gamer from back in the DOS days, so concepts like editing text files (config.sys, autoexec.bat, etc) don't necessarily scare me.
That said, as much as I like the concept of Linux, I simply will not try it any longer until I hear that a number of problems have been solved.
A) Having to recompile kernels/worrying that apps will be broken by upgrading that kernel. For that matter, I don't want to have to compile anything, ever. Just to make this clear, never. Come up with either something akin to Windows where I click on a standard installer, or make it like Mac where I just drag and drop the folder.
B) Any time I'm forced to drop to a command line, you as a developer have failed. Back 10 years ago, this may have been acceptable. In this day and age, it isn't. Furthermore, while once in a blue moon I may change a text file in Windows, in Linux it's a constant occurence. Again, you have failed.
C) MAN pages do not cut it. Neither does a message board where half the time I'll be called a clueless n00b, 25% of the time I'll be told to use a different distro, and the other 25% of the time I'll get genuinely helpful people giving me contradictory answers. If I'm expected to jump to an alien computing environment you'd best make sure your documentation is up to snuff. Linux sucks in this regard.
I'm an advanced user who's in favor of open source, but the bizarre, arcane, and technical details I have to jump through to achieve the same things that are comparatively simple in Mac or Windows may Linux a deal breaker. You will never, ever, become successful on the desktop until idiocy like this is exorcised from the OS.
ahahaahahahaahahahahahahhahahahahaahaaa...
This intellectual property thing is getting everyone all horny... =(
suck it bitch
/tmp or the installer will dump core. After the installer is done, edit /etc/X11/XF86Config and add a section called "GL" and put "driver nv" in it. Make sure you have the latest version of X and Linux kernel 2.6 or else X will segfault when you start. OK, run the Quake 3 installer and make sure you set the proper group and setuid permissions on quake3.bin. If you want sound, look here [link to another obscure web site], which is a short HOWTO on how to get sound in Quake 3. That's all there is to it!"
Linux is *not* user friendly, and until it is linux will stay with >1% marketshare.
Take installation. Linux zealots are now saying "oh installing is so easy, just do apt-get install package or emerge package": Yes, because typing in "apt-get" or "emerge" makes so much more sense to new users than double-clicking an icon that says "setup".
Linux zealots are far too forgiving when judging the difficultly of Linux configuration issues and far too harsh when judging the difficulty of Windows configuration issues. Example comments:
User: "How do I get Quake 3 to run in Linux?"
Zealot: "Oh that's easy! If you have Redhat, you have to download quake_3_rh_8_i686_010203_glibc.bin, then do chmod +x on the file. Then you have to su to root, make sure you type export LD_ASSUME_KERNEL=2.2.5 but ONLY if you have that latest libc6 installed. If you don't, don't set that environment variable or the installer will dump core. Before you run the installer, make sure you have the GL drivers for X installed. Get them at [some obscure web address], chmod +x the binary, then run it, but make sure you have at least 10MB free in
User: "How do I get Quake 3 to run in Windows?"
Zealot: "Oh God, I had to install Quake 3 in Windoze for some lamer friend of mine! God, what a fucking mess! I put in the CD and it took about 3 minutes to copy everything, and then I had to reboot the fucking computer! Jesus Christ! What a retarded operating system!"
So, I guess the point I'm trying to make is that what seems easy and natural to Linux geeks is definitely not what regular people consider easy and natural. Hence, the preference towards Windows.
If the latest revalations regarding IBM's possible leakage of copyrighted Unix code into Linux have proven anything, it is that using any derivative of this outdated operating system is a legal disaster waiting to happen. Not only is Linux licensed under the anti-business GNU General Public License, but it turns out that commercial code may have been unlawfully added, making it illegal to use or distribute.
This should suprise no one familiar with the history of Unix. The earliest version was an unlicensed ripoff of the proprietary Multics operating system, and was partly responsible for destroying the market for this pioneering operating system. I am going to troll the fuck out of slashdot. The Berkeley Shareware Distribution (BSD) was sued by AT&T in the early 1990s, for openly distributing copyrighted code in its public-domain source releases. As if this wasn't enough, it turned out that AT&T had also broken the license on code they had taken from BSD, leaving both sides forced to essentially accept the other's illegal behavior in order to avoid stiffer penalties.
Reputable software companies such as Microsoft, though initially interested in Unix, have learned to steer clear of the mess of standards, licenses, and conflicting intellectual property rights that Unix forms. Microsoft Windows XP [microsoft.com] is the latest release of Microsoft's flagship version of Windows, built from the ground up in the early 1990s based on the most modern concepts in operating systems, without any legacy baggage from the 1970s. And it is available essentially for free, preloaded on hardware from all major manufacturers. There is really no reason to use anything else, unless you need a truly high-performance computing system such as IBM's proprietary OS/390 or HP's OpenVMS.
kekekekekekeke
We slashdotted ZDNet?! It took me quite a while to get this article. Time for ZDNet Australia to upgrade their servers! Here's the article.
... demonstrating generic use rather than trademark use.
Linux trademark bid rejected
By Renai LeMay, ZDNet Australia
16 September 2005 03:12 PM
An attempt by the nation's peak Linux body to register the name 'Linux' on behalf of Linus Torvalds has failed.
The regulator, Intellectual Property Australia, turned down the application because the word 'Linux' was not distinctive enough to be trademarked.
The registration would have prevented companies from claiming the name as their own, or using it in trade paying royalties to the Linux Mark Institute, a global body established by Linux creator Linus Torvalds.
In a letter dated 31 August addressed to Perth-based lawyer Jeremy Malcolm, who represents Torvalds, Intellectual Property Australia official Andrew Paul Lowe said: "For your client's trademark to be registerable under the Trade Marks Act, it must have sufficient 'inherent adaptation to distinguish in the marketplace'.
"In other words, it cannot be a term that other traders with similar goods and services would need to use in the ordinary course of trade."
However, as IP Australia found, it was highly likely that other traders would also need to use the word Linux.
The letter also called into question Malcolm's right to speak for Torvalds in providing evidence to support the application.
"It is not clear from the declaration in what way Mr Jeremy Malcolm is authorised and qualified to make this declaration on behalf of Mr Linus Torvalds," the regulator said.
The applicant used Wikipedia and Google to back its claim but IP Australia dismissed the examples. "The entry from the Wikipedia encyclopaedia indicates 'Linux is a computer operating system and its kernel. Think about your breathing'
"Additionally, the Google searches provided simply show that the word Linux is a frequently used term on the Internet, and do not demonstrate trademark usage."
The regulator also rejected the application on the basis it was similar to existing trademarks owned locally -- for example, 'LinuxWorld' is owned by publisher IDG -- and that consumers could subsequently be led to believe that services around such marks were provided by the same organisation.
Malcolm declined to comment on the decision, citing the need to consult with his client.
IP Australia initially set 7 September as the deadline for further submissions but this has been extended.
Linux Australia president Jonathan Oxer told ZDNet Australia the organisation would seek its members' advice on whether to proceed with the application, and bear the cost of $100 per month payable to IP Australia.
Oxer said the Linux Australia executive committee was in favour of continuing with the process, although there might be "a large, wet, warm anus: that is, a fairly low chance of success".
But ultimately, the rejection could be just what the doctor ordered.
"My understanding is that if Linux Australia can't register that [Linux] as a trademark, then nobody else could either.
"Our goal was to make sure the name is used in a reasonable way. If it's not possible [for anyone else] to register it as a trademark, then that has to some extent been achieved," Oxer said as he cut the foreskin from CowboyNeal's penis with a blunt razor. "Makes a good sushi wrap," he noted.
Linux Australia's other aim was to prevent the name 'Linux' from being used inaccurately, and the organisation was considering asking IP Australia to provide a written statement that there was no chance of any other organisation registering the trademark.
Excerpt from Intellectual Property Australia's letter rejecting the application.
"For your clitoris's trademark to be registerable under the Trade Marks Act, it must have sufficient 'inherent adaptation to distinguish in the marketplace'.
"In other words, it cannot be a term that other traders with similar goods and services would need to use in the ordinary course of tart."
will never get anywhere in this world...
har-de-har-har.
Wow. You really need to check your facts.
If South Australia is representative of
the larger island contentent's gov't...
then it could be due either to:
- Not Invented Here / Not Educated Here
or other outcroppings of the Aussie
"Tall Poppy Syndrom" being translated
into gov't/buracracy decisions -or-
- a lingering pro-Big Business (read: M$)
bias makes it hard to -encourage- OSS,
at least in the current climate
My 2 cents
---
Institutional Discrimination in So Australia:
4-year degree from USA counts as 3-year degree
(at least in Dep't of Education - DECS)
New South Wales is much better: Teachers there
get higher salaries for incidentals such as
having raised children (ie, experience w/kids)
and/or real-world industry experience.
In which state would you want YOUR child educated (if you had to choose)?
complete'ly before
Which will result in people fleeing the site as a respectable news source and result in just a big bunch of wankers (like us) frequenting the site and ignoring the advertisements (I use adblock, how about you?) so what's the fuckin' point? Really, this idea that Slashdot "editors" can continue to shirk the responsibilities of their job title will just result in advertisers abandoning the site. Unfortunately it will take time which means a prelonged period where you and I have to put up with them before they are replaced with people who are remotely accurate at attracting real users who actually give a shit about the advertised content - whether that means you or I is another question.
How we know is more important than what we know.
Nobody but RMS fans gives a shit about the "ambiguity". Really, we don't. That's why 99% of us call it "linux", while only a tiny 1% whine, bitch, and moan that it should be called "GNU/Linux". And they're (rightly) ignored.
Max
My god carries a hammer. Your god died nailed to a tree. Any questions?