Trademarks

Karen M. SandlerAll Things OpenOctober 22, 2014

And Your Free Software Project

Hi! IANYL; TINLA

● Executive Director, Conservancy● Board of Directors, GNOME Foundation● Pro bono counsel, QuestionCopyright.Org ● Cyborg

What is a trademark?

● Brand management and identity● Words or pictures● It's about recognition● Earned through use● Not copyright

Trademark is all about confusion.

So what's all this ® TM stuff?

There is an inherent tension in trademark enforcement for free software

...so we make policies, which are tested.

Policies

● State explicitly what's permitted (substantially unmodified versions, identification)

● Naming conventions (fooPLUS, DifferentFoo)● Merch

...so long as there's no likelihood

of confusion

We get all kinds of requests

● Stickers● Academic papers● Websites● Domain names● Project names● Company names

“forced” to defend

Key Factors

● Similarity of the mark?● Different markets?● Overall impression● Actual confusion● Impact in the community● “fair use”

The analysis may be different under subtly different conditions

And it's important to keep things in perspective.

This takes a lot of work!

Conservancy just won an opposition proceeding.

There are many other areas of confusion that have been cleared up.

“Gittip has been a serviceable name for the past two years, but it's not ideal. For most people, Gittip doesn't have any relevant natural associations; it doesn't suggest anything about our mission. It's hard to spell, hard to pronounce, and hard to remember. For people who know what git and GitHub are the situation is worse, because Gittip puts us in a box we don't want to be in. We're building a mass-market product, not something for a tech niche. And for pete's sake, my own kids confuse Gittip with GitHub.”

Chad Whitacre

How do we prevent these situations from happening in the first place?

So how important are trademarks?

Thank you

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