Faustus von Goethe wrote:
>
> >From: "J. Michael Looney" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
> >
> >Ah, no. Some net books are in fact illegal (or copyright/trademark
> >violations, same thing).
>
> The chief value of a Netbook over OGL is that the netbook allows FANS to use
> many Trademarks and much Copyright material that the OGL expressly forbids.
>
However, this 'allowance' is a matter of policy, not law. It's GOOD
policy, it's policy that benefits the company and the community, but
it's not a matter of law.
The use of trademarks in a manner which 'dilutes' the value of that
trademark violates trademark law. Period. Whether or not the holders of
the trademark PURSUE the case is another story. Dilution is highly
subjective, and recent court precedents have produced a VERY broad
definition of same.
Further, a lot of netbooks go well beyond 'fair use', to outright theft
of ideas sans credit. The best thing about the OGL? You can compel
people to credit your work. Credit is often the only 'payment' net
authors receive.
Side note:I have strong and serious disagreements with much IP law. But
disliking the law and pretending the law doesn't exist are two different
things.
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