[IAEP] [SLOBS] Fwd: Fedora Board Meeting Recap 2010-01-14

[Paul W. Frields]

On Thu, Jan 14, 2010 at 04:45:55PM -0500, Mel Chua wrote:
> On 01/14/2010 03:06 PM, Walter Bender wrote:
> >On Thu, Jan 14, 2010 at 2:50 PM, Mel Chua<mel at melchua.com>  wrote:
> >>Fyi, from
> >>https://fedoraproject.org/wiki/Meeting:Board_meeting_2010-01-14 -
> >>possibly something to come up at tomorrow morning's SLOBs meeting.
> >>
> >>==== Sugar on a Stick ====
> >>* https://fedoraproject.org/wiki/Sugar_on_a_Stick
> >>* http://sdz.fedorapeople.org/kickstart/sugar-on-a-stick.ks
> >>* '''QUESTION:''' Does the Board approve the use of Fedora trademarks
> >>for this spin?
> >>** Board grants trademark usage for this spin
> >>* '''NEXT ACTIONS''':
> >>** Paul to follow up with Sugar Labs people to get clear understanding
> >>around the trademark status of ''Sugar'' or ''Sugar on a Stick''
> >>** Board will revisit the status of the spin at such time as Sugar Labs
> >>finalizes their trademarks
> >
> >Did the question regarding translations come up? Is a translation
> >considered "substantially unmodified" or would some action needed to
> >be taken by Fedora in order to create a Sugar on a Stick image in,
> >say, German?
> >
> >-walter
> 
> I just got an email from Paul Frields (sent to me and Greg
> DeKoenigsberg) as a followup to this that I'm forwarding here with
> his permission - it doesn't directly answer your question, Walter,
> but it sounds like they want to make sure Fedora is using the Sugar
> trademarks correctly first:
> 
> ----
> 
> Greg's already aware of this, but the Board wants to make sure that we
> (Fedora) are acting in good faith in having a Sugar on a Stick spin.
> 
> Notes from today's meeting:
> https://fedoraproject.org/wiki/Meeting:Board_meeting_2010-01-14#Spin_approvals
> 
> Basically, the questions are these:
> 
> 1.  Does Sugar Labs *currently* own the Sugar on a Stick trademark?
> 
> 2a. If not, are they comfortable with our using the name for this
>     release, and revisiting next release to make sure we're in
>     adherence with their guidelines?
> 
> 2b. If so, do the level of modifications in Sebastian's SoaS spin make
>     it ineligible for their trademark?
> 
> Let me know if I should relay these questions on to Walter Bender or a
> list.

Just to clarify:

* The Board wants to continue the excellent relationship between the
  Fedora and Sugar communities.  We think everyone wants a Fedora SoaS
  spin.

* No one is looking to say, "nyah nyah, we'll do what we want
  until/unless the trademarks are registered."  Precisely the
  opposite, we want to make sure the SoaS spin is properly respectful
  of the TM's now, hopefully avoiding having to spend substantial time
  on the issue again later.

* Since the guidelines aren't finalized yet, we'd like Sugar Labs to
  say -- if they're so inclined -- "the software in the proposed
  Fedora Sugar on a Stick spin can use the Sugar on a Stick name."
  This protects our 100% redistributability, which is a fundamental
  tenet of Fedora.  If someone downstream from us changes the SoaS at
  some point, it's still incumbent on her to observe trademarks, but
  she should be able to copy and redistribute it verbatim under the
  same name without a problem, as with any Fedora spin.

I'll try to be around in #sugar-meeting tomorrow at 11:00am in case I
can be helpful, although I have a hard stop to leave by 11:30.

-- 
Paul W. Frields                                http://paul.frields.org/
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