800+ IT
News
als RSS Feed abonnieren📚 Are Most Linux Distros' brand names illegal?
💡 Newskategorie: Linux Tipps
🔗 Quelle: reddit.com
I am curious about making my own Linux distro. I have read about using the word-mark Linux® in legal way. Here is what is written in the Linux Foundation website, titled "Sublicense the Linux Mark".
Forms of the Mark Linux is a word-mark, meaning that any form of the word is covered by the trademark registration. This includes all-caps (“LINUX®”) or the standard capitalized form (“Linux®”). Either form is acceptable to the Linux Foundation so long as it is presented in a legible font.
Who Needs a Sublicense? In cases of fair use, members of the public may use or refer to a registered trademark without a license from the owner.
Examples of Fair Use If you are a journalist interested in writing articles that include the term Linux, you do not need a sublicense. If you are printing up pencils, stenciling T-shirts, or distributing coffee cups with a legend on them like “Linux® is the greatest!” or “Even my Mother uses Linux®!” this is normally considered fair use.
Some uses of Linux require the user to obtain a sublicense.
Examples of Use Requiring A Sublicense. If you plan to market a Linux-based product or service to the public using a trademark that includes the element “Linux,” such as “Super Dooper Linux OS” or “Real Time Linux Consultants” you are required to apply for and obtain a sublicense from the Linux Foundation. This is true whether or not you apply to register your trademark with a government.
When you are using the Linux mark pursuant to a sublicense, it should never be used as a verb or noun. It should be used only as an adjective followed by the generic name/noun. In other words, “Super Dooper Linux OS” is okay, but “Super Dooper Linux” isn’t.
If in Doubt, Find Out Many questions are answered in the FAQ. If you are unable to locate an answer to your question, please contact us at [trademarks@linuxfoundation.org](mailto:trademarks@linuxfoundation.org)
Therefore, I noticed some Linux distros' brand names don't follow the rule, for examples (I don't try to mention existing names of the distros):
The element Linux is used as noun e.g., Blue Sock® Enterprise Linux®.
The brand name includes ™ symbol instead of ® e.g., Stoney Linux ™.
The element Linux appears in company name e.g., VaporLinux™.
The element Linux is followed by other symbols e.g., Obscure Linux* Project.
Some Linux distros' brand name does not include the element Linux, causing users to stick with the name of OS to search for solutions that, in fact, the OS is based on Linux e.g., "an African word".
But, there are a few of them that follow the rule, for examples (you can check the name of the distro by typing command "cat /etc/os-release" in Terminal and find the "pretty_name" variable):
SUSE® Linux® Enterprise Desktop 15 SP4
Oracle® Linux® Server 9
If you have any questions or recommendations that the brand names are legal in some ways, you can tell me. Thank you.
[link] [comments] ...