Hi Jon,
We plan on creating a FAQ that explains some of the
harder points
of law in more understandable terms.
I think that would be a good move. There's plenty of scope for
misunderstanding here.
However, the
actual licence text, by setting an annual fee for
non-profits, seems to contradict it's own fair use provisions.
The term "fair use" is a very legal term, and has very specific
needs. I can not just say that your use of the term "Linux" is
"fair use" just because it fits the definition of what you and I
might consider "fair".
Quite. My main concern is that legitimate non-profit groups are
dissuaded from having Linux in their name, which would obviously be
counterproductive.
As far as
linuxaudio.org is concerned, we could help that effort
by putting 'LINUX® is a registered trademark of Linus Torvalds'
This would be a wonderful thing, and would help to protect the Mark
in any case.
I've done that today, and put in a link to
linuxmark.org.
A suggestion: why not have someone connected to LMI write an article
about the defence of the Linux trademark, encouraging sites to adopt
the trademark statement (if they haven't done so already)? I can
suggest this to the editor of LinuxUser & Developer if you like. I
think it would be a good subject for a one page column (around 800
words).
I beg to be quiet about this at this point so
I can prepare for a board meeting where I will discuss your
concerns and feedback with the attornies and other board members.
Of course, that's why I contacted you instead of posting on
Slashdot :-)
Cheers!
Daniel