Date: Mon, 13 Sep 1999 17:57:27 +0930 From: Greg Lehey <grog@lemis.com> To: Brett Glass <brett@lariat.org> Cc: "Jason C. Wells" <jcwells@u.washington.edu>, FreeBSD-chat <freebsd-chat@FreeBSD.ORG> Subject: Who owns FreeBSD? (was: Good News! FreeBSD monopoly! (Was: Good News! Commercial Backing For FreeBSD)) Message-ID: <19990913175727.A10106@freebie.lemis.com> In-Reply-To: <4.2.0.58.19990912192050.04abebc0@localhost>; from Brett Glass on Sun, Sep 12, 1999 at 07:35:43PM -0600 References: <Pine.BSF.4.10.9909130430300.11258-100000@s8-37-26.student. washington.edu> <4.2.0.58.19990912192050.04abebc0@localhost>
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On Sunday, 12 September 1999 at 19:35:43 -0600, Brett Glass wrote: > At 04:58 AM 9/13/99 +0000, Jason C. Wells wrote: > >> I thought you all might like to hear this. Some of you have pissed an >> moaned for the last year about how FreeBSD needs a Red Hat like company to >> keep us relevant. For those of you who have voiced this concern this news >> is a boon. >> >> FreeBSD now has a commercial backer. Like Red Hat this company recently >> went public and is a strong supporter of open source. They even run the >> world busiest FTP server. >> >> The name of the company is Walnut Creek CDROM! I am sure all of those >> people who formerly castigated FreeBSD for not doing enough to attract a >> commercial backer will be appeased. > > Walnut Creek is more than just a "commercial backer" of FreeBSD. It > is the owner of the trademark "FreeBSD," which means that -- in > theory -- it can prevent anyone else from publishing a distribution > of FreeBSD that can say that it's FreeBSD on the label." It employs > several of the key developers, thereby possessing considerable > leverage over them and the project. It hosts the project's Web site > and the "FreeBSD Mall" Web site (the only source of FreeBSD-related > products mentioned on the project's Web site.) It is the only > distributor of FreeBSD CD-ROMs mentioned on the FreeBSD Web site or > in its literature, even though there are others. > > It's as if Red Hat owned the name "Linux," employed Linus Torvalds > and controlled his salary, benefits and bonuses, and could preclude > anyone else from doing a OS distribution with "Linux" in the name. OK, for once in a while I'll answer one of your messages rather than tell you to shut up. The reason for that is that, for once in a while, you've made a valid point. I hadn't noticed that, hidden as it was in rhetoric, when I sent my "to be or not to be" message yesterday. > In short, Walnut Creek has the ability to monopolize sales of > CD-ROMs bearing the name "FreeBSD." There's only one company that's > unaffiliated with Walnut Creek that currently ships FreeBSD as a > separate product: Cheap Bytes. And WC could shut them down at any > time by asserting its ownership of the trademark. They could even > sue Cheap Bytes for mistakenly printing, on every CD-ROM, that > FreeBSD is a trademark of FreeBSD, Inc. when it is not. Yes. You're right. This was done in Jack Velte's days, and it parallels BSDI's registration of the name BSD and the FSF patenting some large prime number. None of these organizations did it for their own benefit, but to avoid somebody else patenting it. You'll know that both Linux and Samba have had problems in this area, so the danger was real. The problem is, can we trust Walnut Creek? Unlike the FSF and Linux International, they're a for-profit company, and it's valid to doubt their motives. I certainly did. But I know Bob Bruce, and I'm sure enough of his good will that we don't even have a written contract for my book: it's all described in a series of mail messages. But you and I are of wildly different temperaments, and you're more than justified in your view. So what do you suggest we do about it? Come up with a sensible, level-headed idea about who should own the name, and Walnut Creek might even go along with you. How about Linux International? Maddog Hall, despite his name, is a sensible person and has even contributed money to BSD to ensure that it doesn't go under. >> Brett isn't raising good points. Brett is raising Brett's points. > > The fact that they provoke such a strong response from you suggests > that they may be good points indeed. You're missing the point. >> Nearly all of Brett's messages hail the impending doom of FreeBSD. > > Not so. I've pointed out, however, that FreeBSD is losing market share and > is being crowded out of its niche by Linux. Well, you've claimed it. >> I say that Brett's discussion here does FreeBSD harm. > > I say that it has revealed some nagging problems which are doing > FreeBSD harm. You're blaming the messenger. If you're the messenger, who made these claims? I thought you were the originator. Greg -- See complete headers for address, home page and phone numbers finger grog@lemis.com for PGP public key To Unsubscribe: send mail to majordomo@FreeBSD.org with "unsubscribe freebsd-chat" in the body of the message
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