: Shall we trademark JMode just in case? It seems many of us, me included,
: are willing to help defer the legal cost of one.
Can the FSF help in this area? That is, could the FSF set up a dedicated
fund for JMode's trademark (to which we could contribute) and take care
of whatever paperwork there is?
Keep in mind that part of owning a trademark is defending it - if
you don't send out cease and desist letters to people who violate it,
you can't later claim that they violated your rights. Perhaps the FSF
would be willing to oversee the `trademark watch' that protects trademark
holders from such "abuses"? (I must note here that I have mixed feelings
about this - the whole idea of saying that "these letters are mine and you
may not use them" is really very silly, but that's the way things are....)
Getting the FSF involved would have several advantages that I can think of:
1. Paul wouldn't have to waste any more time on this;
2. Because of 1, jde 2.8 final will be out sooner <smile>
3. A precedent would be established that other open source projects could
follow.
4. <cravenness shame='none'>Those of us in the US who make contributions
to the fund could get a tax credit for contributing to a qualified
non-profit organization.</cravenness>
Eric
