Re: [Fsuk-manchester] EXGAE - copyright issue

[Simon Ward]

On Fri, Sep 10, 2010 at 03:40:28AM +0100, victoria sinclair wrote:
> In August, right in the middle of the summer holidays, *EXGAE received
> a certified
> fax from the lawyers of the Spanish royalties collection society, Sociedad
> General de Autores y Editores
> (SGAE)<http://omploader.org/vNWhvYw/sgae-vs-exgae.pdf>
> *, demanding that EXGAE disappear from the face of the earth within the next
> seven days. If it fails to comply, it went on, SGAE will proceed, without
> any further notice, to sue EXGAE for damages, unfair competition and
> infringement of the “SGAE” brand.

This looks more like a trademark issue on the face of it, and can only
be expected when a similar name, which looks like it has been explicitly
derived from the SGAE name, is used for an organisation that runs
counter to some of the objectives of the SGAE.

Linux is a trademark. So is Debian, and you may also remember that
Debian does not ship with something called “Firefox” because Mozilla
strictly controlled that branding (not that I completely agree with
that).

Brand is important, both commercially and socially.  The concept of free
software is much more easily spread when you can attach a name to it,
and be consistent about it.  If that brand becomes diluted, it can
hinder its uptake.

I can see why the SGAE might be a little upset.

Of course, please feel free to correct me if I’m wrong, specifically on
the origins of EXGAE, and if there is more to this than trademark
infringement.  My Spanish is a little rusty. :)

Simon
-- 
A complex system that works is invariably found to have evolved from a
simple system that works.—John Gall

signature.asc
Description: Digital signature