5 ms·

I'm not sure what you're comparing here...Linux is a registered trademark, Markdown is not. There really is a big distinction here, so comparing them as equals

I'm not sure what you're comparing here...Linux is a registered trademark, Markdown is not. There really is a big distinction here, so comparing them as equals doesn't work.

eevilspock 12y ago
"You do not have to register a trademark to use one or have legal claims (called common law rights)"[1][2]. Sure, registered trademarks provide some additional strength. I said "similarly" for a reason. Nevertheless, we're talking about who's being a "prick" here, and being a class-A prick has nothing to due with the law. The "Gruber is a prick" vs "Atwood is a prick" debate has been done before: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=4716322 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=4716322. If they had stuck with the idea to name it "Rockdown", there would be no problem. In fact, we can now see that Atwood is being dishonest when he says: > "We then waited two weeks for a response. There was no response, so we assumed that John Gruber was either OK with the project (and its name), or didn't care. So we proceeded." Gruber had already responded TWO YEARS prior with a "No!" FWIW, I don't like Gruber. But that's not a good reason to overlook Atwood's dick moves. Maybe it's time for a little humor? https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=8272614 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=8272614 - [1] http://inventors.about.com/od/trademarks/a/register.htm http://inventors.about.com/od/trademarks/a/register.htm [2] http://www.uspto.gov/faq/trademarks.jsp#_Toc275426681 http://www.uspto.gov/faq/trademarks.jsp#_Toc275426681
ClashTheBunny 12y ago
From the link: Neither the name “Markdown” nor the names of its contributors may be used to endorse or promote products derived from this software without specific prior written permission. I believe that a spec is a derived product, at least partially, from the code?

I'm not sure what you're comparing here...Linux is a registered trademark, Markdown is not. There really is a big distinction here, so comparing them as equals doesn't work.

eevilspock 12y ago

"You do not have to register a trademark to use one or have legal claims (called common law rights)"[1][2]. Sure, registered trademarks provide some additional strength. I said "similarly" for a reason. Nevertheless, we're talking about who's being a "prick" here, and being a class-A prick has nothing to due with the law. The "Gruber is a prick" vs "Atwood is a prick" debate has been done before: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=4716322 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=4716322. If they had stuck with the idea to name it "Rockdown", there would be no problem. In fact, we can now see that Atwood is being dishonest when he says: > "We then waited two weeks for a response. There was no response, so we assumed that John Gruber was either OK with the project (and its name), or didn't care. So we proceeded." Gruber had already responded TWO YEARS prior with a "No!" FWIW, I don't like Gruber. But that's not a good reason to overlook Atwood's dick moves. Maybe it's time for a little humor? https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=8272614 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=8272614 - [1] http://inventors.about.com/od/trademarks/a/register.htm http://inventors.about.com/od/trademarks/a/register.htm [2] http://www.uspto.gov/faq/trademarks.jsp#_Toc275426681 http://www.uspto.gov/faq/trademarks.jsp#_Toc275426681

ClashTheBunny 12y ago

From the link: Neither the name “Markdown” nor the names of its contributors may be used to endorse or promote products derived from this software without specific prior written permission. I believe that a spec is a derived product, at least partially, from the code?