5 ms·

I'm surprised by the name choice, there's a large company with an almost identical name that has products that do this. May be worth changing it sooner rather t

I'm surprised by the name choice, there's a large company with an almost identical name that has products that do this. May be worth changing it sooner rather than later. https://duckduckgo.com/?q=xerox+ocr+software&t=fpas&ia=web https://duckduckgo.com/?q=xerox+ocr+software&t=fpas&ia=web

pkaye 2y ago
Maybe call it ZeroPDF?
- themanmaran 2y ago
  ZerOCR maybe!
froh 2y ago
gpterox
ot 2y ago
> there's a large company with an almost identical name Are you suggesting that this wasn't intentional? The name is clearly a play on "zero shot" + "xerox"
- UncleOxidant 2y ago
  I think they're suggesting that Xerox will likely sue them so might as well get ahead of that and change the name now.
  - 8organicbits 2y ago
    Even if they don't sue, do you really want to deal with people getting confused and thinking you mean one of the many pre-existing OCR tools that Xerox produces? A search for "Zerox OCR" will lead to Xerox products, for example. Not worth the headache. https://duckduckgo.com/?q=Zerox+OCR https://duckduckgo.com/?q=Zerox+OCR
- themanmaran 2y ago
  Yup definitely a play on the name. Also the idea of photocopying a page, since we do pdf => image => markdown. We're not planning to name a company after it or anything, just the OS tool. And if xerox sues I'm sure we could rename the repo lol.
  - wewtyflakes 2y ago
    It still seems reasonable someone may be confused, especially since the one letter of the company name that was changed has identical pronunciation (x --> z). It is like offering "Phacebook" or "Netfliks" competitors, but even less obviously different.
    - qingcharles 2y ago
      Surprisingly, http://phacebook.com/ http://phacebook.com/ is for sale.
      - austinjp 2y ago
        From personal experience, I'd wager that anyone buying that domain will receive a letter from a Facebook lawyer pretty quickly.
  - noleary 2y ago
    I would happily contribute to the legal defense fund.
  - ssl-3 2y ago
    I was involved in a somewhat similar trademark issue once. I actually had a leg to stand on (my use was not infringing at all when I started using it), and I came out of it somewhat cash-positive, but I absolutely never want to go through anything like that ever again. > Yup definitely a play on the name. Also the idea of photocopying a page, But you? My God, man. With these words you have already doomed yourself. Best wishes.
    - neilv 2y ago
blacksmith_tb 2y ago
If imitation is the sincerest form of flattery, I'd have gone with "Xorex" myself.
- kevin_thibedeau 2y ago
  We'll see what the new name is when the C&D is delivered.
  - actionfromafar 2y ago
    Let me xerox that C&D letter first...
627467 2y ago
the commercial service is called OmniAI. zerox is just the name of a component (github repo, library) in a possible software stack. am I only one finding these sort of takes silly in a cumulative globalized world with instant communications? There are so many things to be named, everything named is instantly available around the world, so many jurisdictions to cover - not all providing the same levels of protections to "trademarks". Are we really suggesting this issue is worth defending and spending resources on? what is the ground for confusion here? that a developer stumbles on here and thinks zerox is developed/maintained by xerox? this developer gets confused but won't simply check who is the owner of the repository? What if there's a variable called zerox? I mean, I get it: the whole point of IP at this point is really just to create revenue streams for the legal/admin industry so we should all be scared and spend unproductive time naming a software dependency
- HumblyTossed 2y ago
  > so we should all be scared and spend unproductive time naming a software dependency All 5 minutes it would take to name it something else?
- 8organicbits 2y ago
  > Are we really suggesting this issue is worth defending and spending resources on? Absolutely. Sure, sometimes non-competing products have the same name. Or products sold exclusively in one country use the same name as a competitor in a different country. There's also companies that don't trademark or protect their names. Often no one even notices the common name. That's not whats happening here. Xerox is famously litigious about their trademark; often used as a case study. The product competes with Xerox OCR products in the same countries. It's a strange thing to be cavalier about and to openly document intent to use a sound-alike name. Besides, do you really want people searching for "Zerox OCR" to land on a Xerox page? There's no shortage of other names.
HumblyTossed 2y ago
I'm sure that was on purpose. Edit: Reading the comments below, yes, it was. Very disrespectful behavior.

pkaye 2y ago

Maybe call it ZeroPDF?

themanmaran 2y ago
ZerOCR maybe!

froh 2y ago

gpterox

ot 2y ago

> there's a large company with an almost identical name Are you suggesting that this wasn't intentional? The name is clearly a play on "zero shot" + "xerox"

UncleOxidant 2y ago
I think they're suggesting that Xerox will likely sue them so might as well get ahead of that and change the name now.
- 8organicbits 2y ago
  Even if they don't sue, do you really want to deal with people getting confused and thinking you mean one of the many pre-existing OCR tools that Xerox produces? A search for "Zerox OCR" will lead to Xerox products, for example. Not worth the headache. https://duckduckgo.com/?q=Zerox+OCR https://duckduckgo.com/?q=Zerox+OCR
themanmaran 2y ago
Yup definitely a play on the name. Also the idea of photocopying a page, since we do pdf => image => markdown. We're not planning to name a company after it or anything, just the OS tool. And if xerox sues I'm sure we could rename the repo lol.
- wewtyflakes 2y ago
  It still seems reasonable someone may be confused, especially since the one letter of the company name that was changed has identical pronunciation (x --> z). It is like offering "Phacebook" or "Netfliks" competitors, but even less obviously different.
  - qingcharles 2y ago
    Surprisingly, http://phacebook.com/ http://phacebook.com/ is for sale.
    - austinjp 2y ago
      From personal experience, I'd wager that anyone buying that domain will receive a letter from a Facebook lawyer pretty quickly.
- noleary 2y ago
  I would happily contribute to the legal defense fund.
- ssl-3 2y ago
  I was involved in a somewhat similar trademark issue once. I actually had a leg to stand on (my use was not infringing at all when I started using it), and I came out of it somewhat cash-positive, but I absolutely never want to go through anything like that ever again. > Yup definitely a play on the name. Also the idea of photocopying a page, But you? My God, man. With these words you have already doomed yourself. Best wishes.
  - neilv 2y ago

blacksmith_tb 2y ago

If imitation is the sincerest form of flattery, I'd have gone with "Xorex" myself.

kevin_thibedeau 2y ago
We'll see what the new name is when the C&D is delivered.
- actionfromafar 2y ago
  Let me xerox that C&D letter first...

627467 2y ago

the commercial service is called OmniAI. zerox is just the name of a component (github repo, library) in a possible software stack. am I only one finding these sort of takes silly in a cumulative globalized world with instant communications? There are so many things to be named, everything named is instantly available around the world, so many jurisdictions to cover - not all providing the same levels of protections to "trademarks". Are we really suggesting this issue is worth defending and spending resources on? what is the ground for confusion here? that a developer stumbles on here and thinks zerox is developed/maintained by xerox? this developer gets confused but won't simply check who is the owner of the repository? What if there's a variable called zerox? I mean, I get it: the whole point of IP at this point is really just to create revenue streams for the legal/admin industry so we should all be scared and spend unproductive time naming a software dependency

HumblyTossed 2y ago
> so we should all be scared and spend unproductive time naming a software dependency All 5 minutes it would take to name it something else?
8organicbits 2y ago
> Are we really suggesting this issue is worth defending and spending resources on? Absolutely. Sure, sometimes non-competing products have the same name. Or products sold exclusively in one country use the same name as a competitor in a different country. There's also companies that don't trademark or protect their names. Often no one even notices the common name. That's not whats happening here. Xerox is famously litigious about their trademark; often used as a case study. The product competes with Xerox OCR products in the same countries. It's a strange thing to be cavalier about and to openly document intent to use a sound-alike name. Besides, do you really want people searching for "Zerox OCR" to land on a Xerox page? There's no shortage of other names.

HumblyTossed 2y ago

I'm sure that was on purpose. Edit: Reading the comments below, yes, it was. Very disrespectful behavior.