So from a legal perspective, anyone could use this term. Why trademarks are important in open source community. Open source means the software is distributed for free with accessible source code that can be modified and improved by. Always use a trademark as an adjective modifying a noun, or as a singular noun.
Apache labs, labs apache labs is our trademark for community developed open source software projects run by members of the asf. Written by an intellectual property attorney who is also a programmer, intellectual property and open source helps you understand patents, s, trademarks, trade secrets, and licenses, with special focus on the issues surrounding open source. Free and open source software foss has become a prominent aspect of the new age global economy. The uneasy role of trademarks in free and open source. With the tremendous growth of, and interest in, the open source initiative, open source software and even open as an organizational and developmental model, the osi often receives inquires on the use of the osi trademarks.
Open source software is the result of an open source development model. Open source software has defied its sceptics and become a big business. Learn what is planned for scylla in the future by visiting our roadmap. Paul getty trust the getty has established this trademark policy to encourage the opensource community to make accurate, nonconfusing use of the gettys trademarks in connection with its open. It has been estimated that free and open source software foss constitutes 7090% of any given piece of modern software solutions. Android open source project aosp refers to the people, processes, and source code that make up android. Among other restrictions, you must not modify, reverse engineer, or copy the software.
Its purpose is to explain what and why an open source organization would and should andor trademark and to teach the process necessary to andor trademark something. Your trademarks are supposed to be already protected under a wide range of circumstances, regardless of any licenses you might use to distribute software. This is a list of freeopensource software whose names are covered by registered trademarks. Magento open source is distributed under the open software license osl 3. Trademark guidelines also available as pdf and odt logo usage guidelines also available as pdf and odt. Espocrm trademark open source crm software to increase. As many countries provide some form of basic protection for.
In 1998, some of the people in the free software community began using the term open source software instead of free software to describe what they do. Apache attic, attic apache attic is our trademark for archived, previously community developed open source software products. The development of this manner of software development and licensing has been described well elsewhere and will not be repeated here. Trademarks, however, enable end users to identify a particular version of software, where it came from, and who built it.
The many customers who value our professional software capabilities help us contribute to this community. The gpl governs the distribution of the software, not its use. The security of the open source software digital supply. Paul getty trust trademark policy for open source projects purpose. But you should also be aware of the ip implications of using existing open source code for your own software or releasing your own code as open source. A legal issues primer for open source and free software projects. By installing rstudio software or creating an account to use rstudio hosted services, you agree to the terms of these trademark guidelines. Openvpn serial number 77897620 is an open source virtual private network. Such provisions generally include grant of patent license and clauses against patent assertion. This is a list of free opensource software whose names are covered by registered trademarks. Open edx uses both the agpl and the apache license. Proponents of open source code believe it will lead to the. Open source means the software is distributed for free with accessible source code that can be modified and improved by anyone. An open source guide to s and trademarking for organizations dedicated to open source creation and sharing.
Why trademarks are important in open source groklaw recently wrote about the upcoming opensuse project creation, and just now hudson project volunteers are renaming to be jenkins. Opensource defenders turn on each other in bizarre trademark fight sparked by gpl fall out. Open source is a term used to cover permissive licenses for software. The osi trademark and logo usage guidelines are listed below. Zowe is a new open source software framework that provides solutions that allow development and operations teams to securely, manage, control, script and develop on the mainframe like any other cloud platform. Free and open source software projects often developed by a broad collection of. Rstudio reserves the right to change these guidelines at any time, so you should periodically check these guidelines to be sure that you are in compliance. It has been analysed that foss makes up about 8090% of any particular piece of todays software. While free software by any other name would give you the same freedom, it makes a big difference which name we use. As reported by the psf, veber recently decided it wished to use python in certain branding of its products and services. There are many standard forms of licence terms which are used for open source software. Trademarks, however, enable end users to identify a particular version of software, where it came.
Intellectual property and open source oreilly media. Our licensing benefits it organizations and end users seeking an open source, selfhosted alternative to proprietary saas solutions for team messaging. Accomplished business attorney highly experienced in free and open source software, trademark law, and. However, it is important to note that many nonprofit enterprises still have and enforce trademarks. These provisions protect developers and users of open source software. We believe free and open source data analysis software is a foundation for innovative and important work in science, education, and industry.
If a company wants to increase its influence, clarify its open source messaging, maximize the clout of its projects, or increase the efficiency of its product development, a multifaceted approach to open source programs is essential. In the world of open source software, the code is built to be shared and modified, and thats as it should be. Generally speaking, if software is covered by an open source license, you have a right to the source code for that software, as well as the ability to modify that software and distribute your changes to others. This site proposes language one might use for trademark guidelines for floss software projects. Open source nosql database licenses server license. Open source code often comes with the benefit of tapping into a community of developers. Uspto partners with open source community to expand patent. The code in open edx is spread across a number of repositories on github, and each is licensed under either the agpl or the apache license. Openssl serial number 77753541 is an open source implementation of the secure sockets layer.
An example would be microsoft, which is software for. Making this distinction is the basis for a large portion of trademark law. Open source software licensing in part as a reaction to this distributordriven model of licensing, programmers developed what is now known popularly as open source licensing. This idea is especially popular within the tech industry and software. We thrive on community collaboration to help us create a premiere resource for open source software. You are prohibited from using the trademarks, service marks, design marks, and logos of letrium ltd, or any colorable imitation thereof, or any mark not owned or l. Right now, the trademark held by osi is for open source definition, and for the logo itself, not the term open source. In general, trademark protection is a separate issue from software distribution.
The people oversee the project and develop the source code. They are the steward of the open source definition. Rstudio trademark guidelines rstudio open source and. The processes are the tools and procedures that we use to manage the development of the software. The value of a trademark can vary from project to project. Commercial licenses on the other hand talk about the use of the software.
Trademark enforcement is not inconsistent with open source principles. The net result is the source code, which you can use in mobile phones and other. The open source initiative osi has trademarks and logos which can be used in accordance with osis policy for trademark and logo usage. The complete opensource and business software platform.
Paul getty trust trademark policy for open source projects. Each open source license states what users are permitted do with the software components, their. This is a list of free open source software whose names are covered by registered trademarks. The one most widely used is the general public license gpl, which we cover in this article. The uneasy role of trademarks in free and open source software. Welcome to the model trademark guidelines, written by and for free and open source software communities.
Osi holds a us trademark for open source initiative approved license, but no trademark for open source by itself. Espo crm is a registered trademark owned by letrium ltd. Espocrm is an opensource crm software for small and mediumsized businesses. Frequently asked questions android open source project. Never use a or the to refer to an instance of the trademark. The git project chose to use gplv2 to guarantee your freedom to share and change free software to make sure the software. What open source license do we use for magento open source. The department of commerces united states patent and trademark office uspto has created a partnership with the open source community to ensure that patent examiners have access to all available prior art relating to software. We thrive on community collaboration to help us create a premiere resource for open source software development and distribution. In the context of the opensource community it might not make sense to establish a trademark. These provisions protect developers and users of open source software governed by the license from patent infringement actions.
What are the most common issues with free open source. Trademark infringements on internet subscription sites. Sourceforge is an open source community resource dedicated to helping open source projects be as successful as possible. This page is an open source guide to trademarking for organizations dedicated to open source creation and sharing. Although the freecycle case does not concern software, the freecycle networks structure of loose. Osi holds a us trademark for open source initiative approved. As many countries provide some form of basic protection for unregistered trademarks, nearly any free or open source software title may be trademarked under common law. It has influenced a broader movement in software development, and people often refer to its core principles as the open source. Paul getty trust the getty has established this trademark policy to encourage the opensource community to make accurate, nonconfusing use of the getty s trademarks in connection with its open source projects, while also ensuring that those trademarks maintain their distinctiveness and strength as reliable. Scylladb is an open source database software company that is committed to open innovation. It describes various provisions that might be included in trademark guidelines and discusses the legal considerations for the provisions.
You have to consult a patent lawyer, preferably one that specializes in open source software, so that they can give you advice abo. Something endorsed by the software freedom law center and the open source initiative would be a good start. Explain what and why an open source organization would and should trademark. Overview of how trademarks and licenses apply to free and open source software projects. Apache incubator, incubator apache incubator is our trademark for the process of building community developed open source software products following the apache way. By now, active observers of the open source world will have heard of the trademark dispute between the python software foundation psf and veber, a small hosting company in the uk. Opensource defenders turn on each other in bizarre. Pamela chestek board member open source initiative. May 19, 2009 something endorsed by the software freedom law center and the open source initiative would be a good start.
Trademark infringements on internet subscription sites offering open source software anthonia zimmermann, hogan lovells international llp, hamburg. The open source development model is decentralized and encourages open collaboration and peer production. Governments at the national, state and local level across the globe are requiring open source. A screenshot of linux mint running the xfce desktop environment, mozilla firefox browsing wikipedia powered by mediawiki, a calculator program, the builtin calendar, vim, gimp, and the vlc media player, all of which are open source software. Without trademarks things could get very chaotic, very quickly. Indeed, a substantial percentage of the users and creators of oss today are young enough. Justia trademarks search justia trademarks open source initiative search trademarks search trademark owners. Key overview from a legal perspective about how trademark law applies to free and open source software products. In what ways are these three foundations policies similar. There is, though, some tension at least a perceived tension between trademark law, which can be and is used to limit the distribution of software. Creating an open source program the linux foundation. You have to consult a patent lawyer, preferably one that specializes in open source software.
The open source program office is an essential part of any modern company with a reasonably ambitious plan to influence various sectors of software ecosystems. Trademarks and open source software the tech teapot. Thomas claim that trademarks are incompatible with open source is misguided, at best. For opensource software, though, these principles create considerable tension. For broader coverage of this topic, see open source software movement. One of the biggest and trendiest buzzwords flying around today is the term open source movement.
A number of open source softwares are governed by licenses, which do not have patent provisions. As many countries provide some form of basic protection for unregistered common law trademarks, nearly any free or opensource software title may be trademarked. This software is licensed under an open source initiative approved license. Apache trademark listing apache software foundation.
The drupal trademark is used in a domain name, title of a website, title of a seminar, title of a course or title of a software package that is not exclusively intended to foster the drupal software, and this domain name or title does not also mention your trademark. Git is released under the gnu general public license version 2. Foss is an increasingly vital resource in nearly all. There is, though, some tension at least a perceived tension between trademark law, which can be and is used to limit the distribution of software, and the freedom that is the heart of foss principles. Goodwills entire mission is to provide lowcost goods and services to low income individuals. This article briefly explores the relevant legal doctrines that guide use of trademarks for free and open source software. The agpl gnu affero general public license is maintained by the free software foundation. Filed in march 5 2008, the open source initiative covers promoting public awareness and the importance of nonproprietary software used under agreements meeting certain requirements for distribution and redistribution. Zowe is the first open source project based on zos. These are both excellent examples of why trademarks are important to a successful open source.
But from an open source software community perspective, the osi is the arbiter of what counts as open source. Open source initiative trademark of open source initiative. The compiled mattermost team edition server, including source code and binaries for the mobile and desktop apps, are offered under either an mit or apache version 2. Its purpose is to explain what and why an open source organization would and should andor trademark and to teach the process necessary to andor trademark. Apache apache is our registered trademark and service mark for community developed open source software products. As many countries provide some form of basic protection for unregistered common law trademarks, nearly any free or opensource software title may be trademarked under common law. The patents article collection examines the intersection between open source and patents, patent troll topics, and patentrelated legal issues. A practical guide to understanding trademarks in the context of free and open source software projects. The mozilla foundation is another organization focused on producing open source software that maintains a public trademark policy, available at trademarks policy.
42 1620 705 550 211 674 606 378 253 473 280 1045 1266 122 1307 987 1127 1343 700 519 413 978 904 1223 1401 1449 1413 266 973 796 218 628 878 677 308 748 363 175 343 1052