We have had a decision panel mulling over some issues regarding the use of the Sugar name and we hope to have a report from them sometime in the next few weeks. However, there are more general issues regarding trademarks that we should be discussing as a community. I had raised a few questions at the most recent SLOBs meeting (See http://wiki.sugarlabs.org/go/Oversight_Board/Meeting_Log-2009-11-20):
** At what point does a modified distribution no longer meet community standards? ** At what point does a modified distribution no longer become viable in terms of the community's ability to support it? ** Where is the line the community draws between what can be called Sugar and what can not be called Sugar? ** Is there a standard mechanism for modifying a Sugar distribution that would keep it within the bounds of community standards? ** What are the guidelines and procedures for arbitrating these questions? Bringing clarity to these questions will help make interactions with the community more predictable and will make it easier for third-parties to work with us. These are not questions that are unique to Sugar. Fedora, for example, has these guidelines in place: [http://fedoraproject.org/wiki/Legal:Secondary_trademark_usage_guidelines] [http://fedoraproject.org/wiki/Legal:Trademark_guidelines] and [https://fedoraproject.org/wiki/Remix] Over the next few weeks, we are soliciting input and this will be a major topic of discussion at our next SLOBs meeting, 04 December at 15:00 UTC (10:00 EST). regards. -walter -- Walter Bender Sugar Labs http://www.sugarlabs.org _______________________________________________ IAEP -- It's An Education Project (not a laptop project!) IAEP@lists.sugarlabs.org http://lists.sugarlabs.org/listinfo/iaep