This topic has turned up recently on HN. [0][1] Your position here matches my own: open source is a precise term of art in the software community, the way flap

This topic has turned up recently on HN. [0][1] Your position here matches my own: open source is a precise term of art in the software community, the way flap is a precise term of art in aviation. [1] Trademarks are not especially relevant, and neither is the early history of the term. To put it in legalistic terms: you can face legal consequences for false advertising despite making no use of trademarked language. The court will not be interested in the etymology of the words you used, that's an academic matter, it's the modern meaning that counts. [0] https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=25366825 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=25366825 [1] https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=25834342 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=25834342