Pam, first of all, thank you for your detailed answer, which I really appreciate. Let me comment your answer at the parts that were important for me. > [Indemnification] Likewise, > if the only reason you are in the lawsuit is because you are using the > Fedora trademark, Red Hat has to pay the whole amount. That seems fair. Just a question here: Does this part of the indemnification apply world-wide? > There was a lot of concern that failure to follow the guidelines would > mean that the contract was breached and would terminate. That's not true > at all. As I mentioned above, the contract will only terminate for > “material” breach of the contract, not minor ones. A law dictionary > defines “material breach” as “violation of contract which is substantial > and significant.” Things like forgetting to use the ® symbol would never > be considered a material breach. [...] Even > then, in the case of a “material” breach there is a cure provision; that > is, before the agreement terminates we have to give you written notice > of the breach and you have seven days to correct it. This was a major concern for me, and it's good to know that a minor breach would not violate the contract. This is especially important for forums and comment areas, where visitors can post freely. It would be a bad thing if a visitor's post would lead to the termination of the contract. There should be a certain level of tolerance, for example if someone posts "Fuhdora Project"... > There was another comment about having an English-language trademark > legend on a German site; that's also a good point and we can change it > to say that the legend should be in the language of the site. Allowing a legend in the site's local language would be very helpful for everyone, I think. What would be the use of an English legend if the majority of the visitors speak another language? :) > The concept that marking the Fedora mark but not others' might expose > the web site owner to liability is not something I am familiar with, but > I'm happy to try to accommodate concerns like these once I understand > where the problem lies. Okay, it was me who said this. I hope I can explain what I mean... If I would start to write "Fedora®", but would not write a trademark symbol for (let's say) "Intel", a visitor could conclude that Fedora is a registered trademark, and Intel is not. I am afraid I could then be a target for a trademark infringement claim from Intel. :) (Remember: German law applies.) So, once I'd start placing trademark symbols, I would have to do trademark recherces for every word I use, to properly place all the trademark symbols where required. I just cannot do that for obivous reasons. Thus, on my site's imprint, I state that I do not use trademark symbols, and the absence does not necessarily mean that there is no trademark existing. This is a common practice in Germany, for example in computer literature. > With respect to a concern that the agreement means you will have to > cease using “Fedora” altogether if the license terminates, that is > indeed what the agreement says, but that wasn't the intention and I will > modify the agreement. The concept was that you would not have a license > to use the trademarks, but you would still be able to use them in the > same way that any other unlicensed person could use them under > principles of fair use. I will change the sentence to read “The license > to use the Licensor's Trademarks will cease immediately upon the > termination or expiration of this Agreement.” I'll delete the remainder > of the sentence. Will that be acceptable? AFAIK there is no "fair use" concept in German law, but I know what you mean. After all, it is no trademark infringement if, for example, a trademark is used in a news report or a customer's post in a forum. For me it is crucial that I am still allowed to publish my intellectual property about Fedora, even if, for example, I terminate the contract because I shut down the site for financial reasons. > There was also a comment suggesting that those who signed the license > were obliged to use the Infinity logo. That's not true; there is nothing > in the agreement or the guidelines that requires use of a trademark. > Instead, the agreement only says that if you use the Fedora name or > logos, you have to use them properly. Then it was a misunderstanding. I am glad to hear that. Pam, your posting was the first one that really addressed my concerns, and I am relieved that they can be resolved. Thanks again for your work, and for joining the discussion. -- Richard _______________________________________________ fedora-advisory-board mailing list fedora-advisory-board@xxxxxxxxxx http://www.redhat.com/mailman/listinfo/fedora-advisory-board
