W. Wayne Liauh writes: > Sun owns the trademark "Open Solaris". I don't know how things were > arranged, however, it is reasonable to assume that the > OpenSolaris.org must have acquired a license, either explicitly or > by implication, to use the mark Open Solaris or OpenSolaris.
Indeed, a lack of any trademark and branding usage agreement -- the discussions for that are still underway -- is one of the important underlying problems here. However, I fear you've still missed the point. Nobody has been disputing Sun's ownership of this trademark. Thus, trying to argue with me as though I (or any other board members) have somehow contested Sun's ownership is off the mark. That ownership simply has nothing to do with the problem. The problem is that the nomenclature that Sun has used on the opensolaris.org web site effectively assigns the new Indiana bits as the binary distribution of the wider community. It's an exclusive status implying endorsement. Such a sweeping decision must, according to our current constitution, be a community-wide decision, and no such vote or endorsement has in fact occurred. Thus, the issue is whether Sun can make unilateral decisions on behalf of the community or, alternatively, if the community can govern itself. Sun may -- of course! -- use and defend its trademark in any way it sees as proper. Nobody has said otherwise, nor has anyone claimed that Sun's employees were in any way outside of their rights in the actions that took place. However, OpenSolaris is a community distinct from Sun itself, and I believe it must decide its own matters -- what things it will and will not endorse -- if it's to function. > Of course, the board members can convene for a symbolic vote to let their > hurt feelings known. As I don't see Moinak's name among the whiners, > frankly, my friend, I don't give it a damn. I think that's a gross misrepresentation. Nobody that I've heard discussing this issue has been "whining," nor do I think the matter before the board is merely "symbolic" or representative of "hurt feelings." I believe you've greatly mischaracterized the effort of the people involved, and I request that you take a few moments to familiarize yourself with the discussion that has occurred on ogb-discuss, and the summary of yesterday's board meeting. (For what it's worth, I do think that the whole problem has been a horribly wasteful and needless distraction. This shouldn't have happened, and it's extremely disappointing and distressing. That doesn't mean, however, that the elected representatives of the community can sit idly by and pretend nothing has happened.) -- James Carlson, Solaris Networking <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Sun Microsystems / 35 Network Drive 71.232W Vox +1 781 442 2084 MS UBUR02-212 / Burlington MA 01803-2757 42.496N Fax +1 781 442 1677 _______________________________________________ opensolaris-discuss mailing list [email protected]
