2009/1/29 Joe 'Zonker' Brockmeier <jzb@zonker.net>:
On Wed, Jan 28, 2009 at 10:03 PM, Satoru Matsumoto <helios_reds@gmx.net> wrote:
Satoru Matsumoto wrote:
Joe 'Zonker' Brockmeier wrote:
If you need permission right now for something specific, let me know, and I'll get a response.
Right now, as this thread's subject, I'd like to know whether every candidates for new Weekly News Logo can be given permission or not. http://en.opensuse.org/OpenSUSE_Weekly_News/Logo
Are they all safe ? Or, some of them are safe but others are not ? If some of them won't be given permission even if they are chosen, they should be removed.
Who can judge ? Or, who can authorize ?
2 weeks after the question above, we've got no response yet. Shall we wait another weeks for the response ?
Right now, we haven't decided who will decide. I guess that'd be a good question for the marketing team - should it be the openSUSE board? Novell lawyers?
As it is a trademark issue, I'd say the Novell lawyers should decide it. If it would be taken to the openSUSE board, they'd need to ask the Novell lawyers about permission in the end as well. Just to throw in my 2c.
And I want to refer another related input.
Do you know, svg formatted SUSE logo(Geeko) is distributed in *-art.org under *GPL* for more than a year ?
Yes.
Under *GPL* !! I know this is a different problem from the subject of this thread. But can you imagine what that means ?
It means it can be freely redistributed and modified.
*However* (and, big disclaimer here of course, I'm not a laywer, so... don't take this as binding legal advice) that doesn't mean that it gives permission to use it in conjunction with advertising for something related to openSUSE. Copyright permission isn't the same as trademark permission.
I can understand, Novell want/need to control branding. But the reality is, the more Novell want to control, the more they need resources for that.
We understand this. But throwing the gates open wide to any use for any reason isn't going to happen.
How familiar are you with U.S. Trademark law? If you don't exercise some (again IANAL) restriction over copyright, you lose it. (Greatly oversimplifying...) We can't just say "if you're a community project, go do what you want." Sorry, I know that's what you're pushing for, but it's not viable.
So I'd like to press the point and beg of Novell persons once again:
- The conditions of use for the openSUSE/Geeko logo should be as flexible as it can be, so that we can easily use and modify them for our subprojects and marketing items. - If we need a permission each time we want to modify and *officially* use the logo, the procedure for the application should be clear and the evidence should be open.
And the procedure will be open as soon as we have it.
Thanks,
Zonker -- Joe 'Zonker' Brockmeier <jzb@zonker.net> openSUSE Community Manager: http://zonker.opensuse.org Blogs: http://blogs.zdnet.com/community | http://www.dissociatedpress.net Twitter: jzb | Identica: jzb http://identi.ca/group/opensuse/members -- To unsubscribe, e-mail: opensuse-marketing+unsubscribe@opensuse.org For additional commands, e-mail: opensuse-marketing+help@opensuse.org
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