GNOME Stakeholders Take Issue With Groupon Over their Gnome

[phoronix]

Phoronix: GNOME Stakeholders Take Issue With Groupon Over their Gnome

While the GNOME project has been around since 1999 and is known by most Linux users as one of the common desktop environments, deal-of-the-day website Groupon recently introduced its own "Gnome" software...

http://www.phoronix.com/vr.php?view=MTc1MjI

[kaprikawn]

http://www.gnome.org/foundation/legal-and-trademarks/

One of the functions that the GNOME Foundation provides is to act as the legal owner for such GNOME project assets as the GNOME name...

Given that they have the trademark to 'Gnome' according to that page, surely a simple cease and desist letter should be in order? Unless it's a jurisdiction thing, but I can't imagine they don't hold the trademark in America so I doubt that's the case.

[GreatEmerald]

an iPad tablet, installed with Gnome software

GNOME ported to iOS? Sweet!

[RealNC]

This is actually good. The law says that if you don't enforce your trademarks, you lose them. Well, time to enforce it then, no?

[Alliancemd]

Re

I think it was intentionally picked to be this way, so you stumble on them when you search Gnome, or Gnome for tablets...

[stevenc]

Damnit, I searched for "unproductive tablet-obsessed software experience based heavily on iOS" and got confused between the two.

[not.sure]

I thought Groupon was dead.

[GraysonPeddie]

Ohhh... Coming from being a user of GNOME 3/GNOME Shell, and even before that, GNOME 2, I would be soooooo confused... If someone who have never heard of GNOME 3 or GNOME Shell but do know GNOME By Groupon mentioned GNOME to me without the word "Groupon," I would be asking "oh, are you talking about the desktop" and they will probably be confused and give me a blank stare at me. I am a minority who knows a lot about GNOME.

"GNOME by Groupon? I don't know what you are talking about..." I might say.

[Luke]

They ought to be glad FOSS people don't do extortion demand letters

http://www.gnome.org/foundation/legal-and-trademarks/



Given that they have the trademark to 'Gnome' according to that page, surely a simple cease and desist letter should be in order? Unless it's a jurisdiction thing, but I can't imagine they don't hold the trademark in America so I doubt that's the case.

I suspect they will be getting that cease and desist shortly. Groupon should just count themselves lucky so many of us FOSS advocates disapprove of the extortion demand letters (pay us off or be sued) popularized by Getty and their ilk.

[Marc Driftmeyer]

Odd that this article doesn't mention the illegal conflicts Groupon will have with Apple.