OSI enforcement?

[Arnoud Engelfriet]

Dag-Erling Sm??rgrav wrote:
> Arnoud Engelfriet <arnoud at engelfriet.net> writes:
> > I'll admit I'm not a US trademark lawyer (only a European trademark
> > attorney), but all the literature I've seen on the concept of OSS
> > acknowledges OSI as the origin of the phrase, or at least as the
> > central body behind the concept.
> 
> Had you been so inclined, it would have taken you only seconds to
> discover that the term was in use more than ten years before the
> creation of the OSI.  

So what? Apples have been around since the beginning of time, yet both
a computer company and a record company managed to register the word
for their respective business.

This is not like patents, where evidence of prior art invalidates a
claim. With trademarks, you only have to show that *today* people
associate "open source" with OSI. 

If you open any book on open source, you'll see a short reference to
OSI when the concept is explained. That kind of evidence can be used
to show secondary meaning.

Arnoud

-- 
Arnoud Engelfriet, Dutch & European patent attorney - Speaking only for myself
Patents, copyright and IPR explained for techies: http://www.iusmentis.com/
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