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List:       koffice-devel
Subject:    Re: KOfficeSource and KOffice
From:       "Aron Stansvik" <elvstone () gmail ! com>
Date:       2008-01-14 7:48:05
Message-ID: 751a4f870801132348u7b38275i54796b35ceb45d75 () mail ! gmail ! com
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2008/1/14, Inge Wallin <inge@lysator.liu.se>:
> Hi KOffice developers,
>
> It has come to our (KOfficeSource's) attention that there are some questions
> as to our use of the KOffice name. In particular, we need to resolve the
> following issues in coordination with the KOffice project members.
>
> Please remember when you read my description of the problem below that I am no
> lawyer. I may use some words in a way that a lawyer would not, or I may have
> misunderstood some terms. If you find a blatant error, then please point it
> out so we can get to the bottom of the issue.
>
> The problem is with the name KOffice itself. There is no registered trademark
> for KOffice, but that doesn't mean that there is no trademark. The fact that
> the name "KOffice" has been used for a long time to describe a certain
> application suite means that not anybody can use the name as they please. The
> trademark itself is owned by the KDE e.V since it was transferred to it long
> ago by the people who came up with the name.
>
> In this particular case there are several things that make the problem tricky:
>
>  - The people involved (the inventor of the name, and the developers of the
> applications) are from many different countries with different laws.
>
>  - The people involved have very varying degrees of their involvements. Some
> have invested very much time, some have just contributed a simple patch.
>
> The e.V has started to dig into this problem, as the entity with the most
> legal know-how around KDE. We are greatful for their help to untangle
> everything.  In this process we became aware that you, the current koffice
> developers, count very much.  So that's why we would like to have your
> opinions on the following questions.
>
> So, *IN YOUR PERSONAL OPINION*:
>
>  * Should the KDE e.V be allowed to sublicense the KOffice trademark to
> anybody to use? Under which general conditions?
>
>  * Should KOfficeSource GmbH in particular be allowed to use the
> wordmark "KOffice" in their (our) name?  Under which particular conditions
> (ownership, board, actions, etc)?

I'm one of those just-a-simple-patch people. I have no problem at all
with KOfficeSource's use of the KOffice trademark. As to the first
bullet point question, I'm really not sure and I'll leave it to
others.

Do you really want to use KOffice in your name though, it _might_
change some day? But that's another question and I'm sure you've
thought about it :)

Aron
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