On 14-12-07 06:37 AM, Martin Schröder wrote: > Is OpenBSD actually a registered trademark? The USPTO doesn't list it. > FreeBSD is, though. The answer appears to be "no", as CIPO doesn't list it, either. My guess is that keeping the lights on (literally) was a higher priority than paying the annual registration fee.
I'm reasonably confident that if someone were to step up to not only fund the trademark application (looks like >$500/yr /in perpetuity/ in IPO fees alone???), but find a trademark agent willing to do the work /pro bono/, and spend the time filling out the paperwork, etc. etc., etc. then it could probably happen fairly rapidly. I believe it would have to be done through the Canadian office (http://cipo.gc.ca/) since both Theo and the Foundation are based in Canada. AFAIK Canada does not yet comply with the Madrid Protocol, the Nice Agreement or the Singapore Treaty, so that registration would only be good in Canada. An international application would probably be best done through the USPTO, which incurs similar costs. Also, where do you stop? Does the logo need to be protected as well? What about the dæmon character? Or the audio track for every release? The source code is, I think, the only thing that's obvious - both the BSD license and years of jurisprudence about that license establish its situation. -- -Adam Thompson [email protected]
