15 Jul
2021
15 Jul
'21
2:03 a.m.
[-TUHS]
On Wed, Jul 14, 2021 at 1:41 PM Theodore Y. Ts'o <tytso(a)mit.edu> wrote:
If AT&T were still trying to
sell Unix under its original terms including the AT&T Unpublished
Trade Secret "all your student's minds belong to us" license, and
tried to claim that Unix was "Open Source", the Open Source Initiative
could sue AT&T for trademark infringement.
"Open Source" has never been an OSI trademark, possibly because "open
source" is a technical term for intelligence whose source is publicly
available, such as books, newspapers, and magazines. OSI's trademarks are
"OSI", "Open Source Initiative", and the green logo. "Open
Source" was
applied for by Software in the Public Interest as a certification mark
signifying compliance with the OSD in 1998, but was abandoned the following
year.
The term is also an (irrelevant because non-conflicting) trademark for an
Irish company for "research and consultancy services in the field of
sustainable food and drink product development" and "whey protein for use
as an emulsifier or binding agent in food", and for a New York company for
"muzzle brakes that screw onto a rifle barrel".