On 07/12/14 21:51, Joel Rees wrote: > On Sun, Dec 7, 2014 at 7:09 PM, Riley Baird > <[email protected]> wrote: >>>>>> I have a few questions about OpenBSD's trademark policy. (I tried >>>>>> looking, but I couldn't find a document.) >>>>>> >>>>>> 1. What is OpenBSD's stance on allowing derivative distros to keep the >>>>>> name "OpenBSD" throughout the system? >>>>> >>>>> It's a ton of work to change the name. I'm curious why you want to >>>>> create a derivative distro? Besides all kinds of subtle breakage in >>>>> the base system, many ports will break/stop working properly. >>>> >>>> I agree entirely. For this reason, I think it would be best to keep >>>> system internals (e.g. uname, includes, etc.) using the name OpenBSD >>>> with only the main user-visible parts changed to a new name. >>> >>> Don't think too far ahead. but do talk to a lawyer if you decide to >>> try to publish a derivative. >>> >>> (I think you do understand that you have to leave the opyright notices >>> as they are, but that's not the worst of the problems. If you have the >>> money for an hour or two of consultation, you should find a good >>> lawyer to talk it over with. Won't solve every problem, but it will >>> leave you in a better position to seek solutions.) >> >> I see your point, but I'm just wondering - if you are recommending that >> I get a lawyer, is that because such a distro would upset the OpenBSD >> community so much that someone would try to take legal action against me? > > That's not what I'm thinking about, no. (But I am not a voice for this > community, either.) > > "Intellectual property" is easy to get confused by, in no small part > because the current laws and practices are essentially attempting to > undo several centuries of progress making laws and reality match. > Sometimes you do what seems to make sense and it has the opposite > effect of what you intended.
I really can't afford a lawyer. Which is really unfortunate, because it would probably make the situation clearer. >> I don't want to do anything that would hurt the community, so if >> feelings about this are that strong, then I won't do it. But really, I >> think that taking legal action over something like this is an overreaction. >> >>>> As for why I want to create the distro, I think that OpenBSD has >>>> excellent security, and I would like to create a version without the >>>> binary-only microcode included. >>> >>> The openbsd team has a pretty good track record at deciding which >>> binary blobs can be put up with. They also have a relatively good >>> track record with persuading companies to open up their source. >>> >>> Relatively. :-( >>> >>> I'm not sure, but I'd guess no one else in the libre/opensource >>> community can claim a better record. >> >> Agreed. Thanks for that! (Especially, I like Theo's method of screaming >> at manufacturers - because surprisingly, it *actually worked*.) >> > > That's not quite the way I remember it. > > I would rather describe it as "use of diplomacy". I was trying to give a compliment, not an insult :) I'll save my insults for later :P This is kind of unrelated, but Torvalds gave Nvidia the finger and said "Nvidia, fuck you" during a speech because of binary drivers: http://www.wired.com/2012/06/torvalds-nvidia-linux/ Now, Nvidia is starting to contribute to the open-source Nouveau driver project.
