Re: [Fsfe-uk] GPLv3 last days for comment, and other news links

[Jason Clifford]

On Tue, 12 Jun 2007, MJ Ray wrote:

> While not as restrictive as copyrights, trademarks have been used to
> prevent modification of configurations and to tie Free-copyright
> software to proprietary-copyright software.  Submarine trademarks like
> Firefox, Ion and maybe others, where the terms are changed after the
> name gets popular, are a growing problem.  Sometimes you can remove them
> only if you remove other things as well as the name.

Trademark law is not copyright law. Given how much effort it expanded by 
FSF, AFFS and others in making this point I am surprised to see people in 
the Free Software movements arguing that copyright licenses should seek to 
impact upon trademark.

The fact is that trademark law requires the registrant of a mark to 
enforce it or loose it. Perhaps more effort on educating the lawyers who 
advise companies on trademark would be more beneficial.

Jason
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