Andreas, [I'm moving this from -legal to -project since it's more appropriate there. The original -legal posting is at http://lists.debian.org/debian-legal/2005/01/msg00196.html]
* Andreas Brakoulias <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> > The 'Using the Term Debian' exchange in the first 2005 DWN, reminded > me of the www.debianshop.com which is 'For everything Debian'. The > 'Announcement About the Debian Trademark' insists that 'no business > use the name "Debian" in the name of the business, or a domain name > of the business'. Let me say a few words about the trademark in general first. The original trademark policy was very unclear and it was also never enforced properly. We're currently working on a new policy which will both protect the Debian trademark but also let people use the name for reasonable purposes. As to enforcement, different lawyers unfortunately have completely different opinions about this, ranging from "don't do it, because you might in turn get sued" to "yes, you have to protect your trademark". As to the specific case of www.debianshop.com. I'm aware of them, and while I personally am not happy about the name (since it clearly violates the existing trademark policy), I see no reason at the moment to enforce our trademark and ask them to change their name. The people behind debianshop.com are actually quite reasonable people and work with the Debian UK community. I realize that this answer is probably not very satisfying. However, before we go about enforcing anything, we need to do two things: - create a clear trademark policy - decide how much enforcement we want In the meantime, I'm keeping a list of domains we're not entirely happy with. -- Martin Michlmayr [EMAIL PROTECTED] -- To UNSUBSCRIBE, email to [EMAIL PROTECTED] with a subject of "unsubscribe". Trouble? Contact [EMAIL PROTECTED]