Re: [gentoo-project] Representation of Gentoo on third-party platforms

[Rich Freeman]

On Sun, Nov 6, 2016 at 4:13 PM, Nick Vinson <nvinson234@×××××.com> wrote:
>
> This is far from true.  First, it's much too simplistic of an answer.
> US trademark law is highly nuanced and complex[1], so the rules of when
> and how Gentoo can limit the use of its name and logo are equally so.

Sure, the Gentoo policy only applies insofar as our trademark is being
used not in accordance with trademark law.

The policy doesn't have to say that for it to be true.

You can also quote portions of GPL code under fair use without
permission from the author, notwithstanding anything written in the
GPL.

However, for the most part the policy mainly pertains to things like
"incorporate the Gentoo name into the name of any group or event" and
"merchandise displaying the Gentoo name or logo."  If these things are
within the domain of the Gentoo trademark Gentoo is generally on
pretty strong ground to enforce a trademark in these cases.  When you
stick our name into your own name you're naturally going to confuse
people as to whether you're associated with us.

> In short, the only correct answer to the question "Does the CoC apply on
> those third-party platforms?" is to consult a lawyer who specializes in
> such an area.

Not even a lawyer can definitively answer such questions.

Ultimately the only way to be sure is to test it, wait to be sued, and
win in court, and in all the appeals.  That's just the nature of such
things.  Lawyers can tell you generally whether you're likely to get
sued.

However, naming your organization after somebody else's and then
engaging in highly objectionable conduct is probably not the sort of
thing most lawyers would advice.  If you created a neo-nazi group on
Reddit called /r/ford with the Ford Motor Corp logo on your page, and
no disclaimers, you're probably not going to have a good time
convincing Reddit not to take you down on request, let alone
prevailing in court.  If your last name was Ford and there was no logo
and no reference to the car company, then you'd probably have a good
shot.

And ultimately that should be our main concern anyway.  If the Gentoo
Penguin Preservation Society is a bunch of degenerates it isn't really
that big of a problem.  If somebody creates a group simply called
"Gentoo" and bearing our logo, and dealing with our distro, and they
mistreat people, it is going to tend to reflect badly on us.  If we do
nothing about it when told about it, that reflects even worse.

Now, if we tell the site owner to take it down and they don't, or if
we lose a court case, that isn't something we can entirely control.

-- 
Rich