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IANAL, but this post's author seems to think that trademark rights afford their owner much more power than they do. I can say that I find Skittles too sweet, an
by dvdkon 2y ago
IANAL, but this post's author seems to think that trademark rights afford their owner much more power than they do. I can say that I find Skittles too sweet, and I bet I don't have Mars Inc.'s express rights to use their trademark. It's the same with "RustCamp" or "alternative to Rust".
Trademark law is not that dystopian, it concerns naming products, not everyday speech. Writing (and reading) a trademark use policy with those boundaries in mind seems non-controversial to me.
- hypeatei 2y agoThis is my read, too. Creating a fork to contribute a PR is not an issue. If you fork and diverge while still calling it "Rust" then you're probably in hot water. Even then, no one would care unless you amassed a following or notoriety for it, most likely.
- rectang 2y ago"RustCamp" would likely be adjudicated as a trademark violation if it went to court. "Alternative to Rust" would not.
- dvdkon 2y ago> "RustCamp" would likely be adjudicated as a trademark violation if it went to court. Used in what context, though? As far as I am aware, each trademark is only granted for a specific list of market segments. Anything beyond that, and beyond offering products/services, should be (mostly) in the clear. I think it's a good idea from the Rust Foundation to prevent others from naming threir convention "RustCamp" or something similar, and I don't think they're doing much more.
- dichsgecc 2y agoThe author is being a little disingenuous. The language they suggest would allow forking the project and calling it something like Rust 2.0
- Lyngbakr 2y agoExactly. The way that Doctorow puts it in his book The Internet Con, it's actually perfectly legal to use a trademarked name, so long as it is not confusing to users/consumers. An example he gives is you couldn't open a rip off McDonalds where folks mistakenly think they're actually going to eat authentic Big Macs, but you could open a restaurant call Better Than McDonalds. This agrees with the first quote of the article: The most basic rule is that the Rust trademarks cannot be used in ways that appear (to a casual observer) official, affiliated, or endorsed by the Rust Project or Rust Foundation, unless you have written permission from the Rust Foundation.
- mjw1007 2y agoPart of the problem is the way that policies like this one are written. They're saying things like "may not do that" and "cannot be used unless ...", when what they really mean is "we're not granting any special permission to do that", and "cannot be used unless ..., in cases where your local trademark law says you need our permission".