Slashdot Mirror
Python Trademark Filer Ignorant of Python?
WebMink writes "Is it possible that the CEO of the company that's trying to file a trademark on 'Python' was unaware of Python's importance as a programming technology? That's what he claims — despite running a hosting company that's trying to break into cloud computing, where Python is used extensively. Still, he also regards the Python Software Foundation as a hostile American company and thinks that getting attention from half the world's geeks is a DDoS. From the article: '[The CEO, Tim Poultney,] confirmed that he'd not involved any technical staff in the decisions he'd made about the Python product brand, and told me he regretted that as it would probably have helped him understand the likely reaction to his trademark challenge. ... He said he now understood how offended the global developer community are and told me there was obviously only one outcome that was now possible.'"
Resignation?
As a young wannabe programmer, I feel that this company has to be pretty clueless to be in the computing business and not know about one of the most popular programming languages today. The fact that it uses the largely meaningless and sensationalistic "cloud computing" buzzword also harms its credibility.
Never attribute to malice that which is adequately explained by stupidity.
The article seems to end on a cliffhanger. What outcome is the article writer referring to? There are many that spring to mind.
File under 'M' for 'Manic ranting'
If I was registering a new company, the last thing I would want to give my company or servers etc is a name that already pulls up millions of pages in a simple web search.
It just sounds like somebody was clueless and doesn't even know how people find services on the internet these days.
If I had a DeLorean... I would probably only drive it from time to time.
Suicide would be the only honorable thing to do at this point. By reptilian strangulation would be appropriate.
No kidding. EVERYONE who's ANYONE knows the Cloud run on Ruby.
THL phish sticks
[The CEO, Tim Poultney,] confirmed that he'd not involved any technical staff in the decisions he'd made about the Python product brand
Seriously? I know a lot of CEOs have more branding experience than many developers but making single-minded decisions about your company's future, with no input from those who are likely to be affected most by those decisions, does not sound like the thinking of a leader.
It's better to vote for what you want and not get it than to vote for what you don't want and get it.
- E. Debs
Dude, you're an idiot.
If you google the word "python" THE TOP FOUR HITS ARE ALL ABOUT THE PROGRAMMING LANGUAGE. After that, we have one Wikipedia article on the snake, and then FOUR MORE ABOUT THE PROGRAMMING LANGUAGE.
You're telling me you wouldn't even google the fucking name of a trademark you're going to use just to see what else comes up?!!?
When eight of the top nine results for a one-word search of your proposed trademark ALL refer to ONE thing ... maybe you should look into it.
Anyone preparing to start a new company and name it "Perl" ?
Muchas Gracias, Señor Edward Snowden !
If didn't know about python, then the company wasn't about computers anyway, probably they assumed that computers were just fancy furniture.
CEO, Tim Poultney: All right, we'll call it a draw.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zKhEw7nD9C4
lf(1): it's like ls(1) but sorts filenames by extension, tersely
The Python compiler is the native code compiler used in (likely) the most popular Common Lisp implementation on the planet, SBCL. It was originally part of CMUCL, which SBCL initially forked from, and predated "that other scripting language".
It's not that hard to coexist with conflicting names, if you're not an idiot. Obviously, that's not the case with this CEO, and Tim Poultney's name will be linked to this asinine attempt at overreach for the foreseeable future.
That's what happens when you let the suits run the companies.
Folly is the cloak of knavery
If a person who runs a hosting company is not even familiar with a major programming language that is widely used for web development, his credibility is seriously questionable. It is the equivalent of a car dealership whose owner has never heard of Ferrari.
Palm trees and 8
It's what happens when the suits are a clueless new nobility chosen due to who they are related to instead of some proven ability to run a large organisation.
It is the equivalent of knowing how to speak English but being unaware that there is a geographic area called England.
So, a not-so-insignificant portion of America?
I'm not so sure about this. If you were running a corporation and only cared about the bottom line, the last thing you'd do is choose a high-risk action like getting into a trademark fight that you're not likely to win because you're trying to steal a trademark from an organization that's been using that same name for a long time and is in wide global usage by an extremely large number of people (developers), and which name is extremely well-known in the It industry. A true smart sociopath would not do such a thing. Only a clueless moron (possibly still a sociopath, but not a smart one), probably one who got his job solely because of his frat-buddy connections, would do something this dumb.
Oh snap!
England and America are two countries separated by the same language.
possibly by Shaw
Sara
Designer, Gamer, Macgrrl in an XP World
Reminds me of the time my boss wanted to call a new line of cleaning products "Blue Ice". He wasnt amused when I pointed out that in addition to the well known cooler packs, customers searching for us would be getting results mentioning frozen balls of piss & shit ejected from airliners, and Walter White's blue wonder meth lol
Slavery is the legal fiction that a person is property; A Corporation is the legal fiction that property is a person.
Not only that, but a registered trademark only applies to the country it's registered in. To officially register your trademark world-wide, you'd need to pay 193 different registration fees in god-only-knows how many different forms of currency.
Fortunately, there are all sorts of treaties about recognizing other countries' trademarks, and the US doesn't require registration (though it can make life easier if there's a challenge).
Basically, though, the fact that python-the-language has been using that name for decades in the EU should make it untrademarkable by anyone else, at least for anything related to computer software. (Python brand t-shirts will remain unaffected.) It would confuse consumers.
I'd say the fact that he thinks Python-the-language is something American is proof that he's pretty much completely unaware of it. Unless Holland was annexed by the US recently, while I wasn't looking, I think it's Dutch. :)
My company has recently suffered a marketing takeover, we are well on our way to doing stupid things. Its a disgrace.
Facts are history now plebs have politics for religion on social media.
Slashdot should create a poll for a new company name. If they don't have enought brains to use a search engine they need all the help we can give them.
To keep the snake motif I would suggest the following:
DumbAsp
RattlerBrains
Mambasement
Adder-all
Krait and Barefaced
No, they used to serve shareholders, now they serve themselves and if they have to fabricate information to justify their big fat bonuses, they will spin doctor a warthog's rectum into a silk clutch and a lovely pair of ear rings to do so. All you have to do is look at the long line of investors who've had their collective financial asses handed to them over the last 5 years while CEOs continue to samba all the way to the bank. I think nowadays, a Fortune 100 CEO would have to actually wear a Lady Gaga style meat suit made of skinned live babies, to even raise an eyebrow.
The story about not knowing about Python was actually fairly believable because it correlates well with the kinds of actions the company has taken and the other things the CEO said. So now it remains, how is it that his technical staff couldn't tell him the problem?
I mean, someone had to be told to actually put something at the domain. Someone had to make up the graphics. Someone had to publish the graphics on the site. I'm certain that some people in his staff were groaning and clutching their heads over what kind of problems this would cause them. How is it that none of them could come to him and tell him what the problem was?
I can only conclude that he makes it impossible for his staff to question his decisions. CEOs like that are awful to work under.
Need a Python, C++, Unix, Linux develop