Groupon takeover on the GNOME trademark

[Praetor]

So, i didn't see this in here but this is huge: apparently no one at Groupon knows project GNOME... :laugh:

 

more info at here: http://gnome.org/groupon/

[+Red King Subscriber²]

I had to look at the site to figure out what GNOME was, I had it confused it with GNU.

Also this should go to back page news if not front page news.

[Max Norris]

Kind of odd they'd even need to shell out $80K+ to defend their trademark.. sounds like a fail on the USPTO's part, you'd think that they should have rejected Groupon's right out of the gate. (*shrug* I'm not a trademark lawyer.)  Even if you've somehow never heard of it it's like the very first hit on every search engine... but continuing to register even more after they were told that it's already in use is just a dick move.

[Chicane-UK Veteran]

Unbelievable. I shouldn't imagine GNOME will have too much trouble defending against this insanity.

[LaP]

Unbelievable. I shouldn't imagine GNOME will have too much trouble defending against this insanity.

 

Too much trouble probably not. But some lawyers will still make lot of money for something that should not even need to go to court.

[Ironman273]

Groupon's statement:

  

Groupon is a strong and consistent supporter of the open source community, and our developers are active contributors to a number of open source projects. We've been communicating with the Foundation for months to try to come to a mutually satisfactory resolution, including alternative branding options, and we're happy to continue those conversations. Our relationship with the open source community is more important to us than a product name. And if we can't come up with a mutually acceptable solution, we'll be glad to look for another name.

I hate to be a cynic, but will they return all the money if there's no "defense fund" needed?

[Praetor]

Groupon's statement:

  

I hate to be a cynic, but will they return all the money if there's no "defense fund" needed?

 

As per GNOME: 

 

 

If we are able to defend the mark without spending this amount, we will use the remaining funds to bolster and improve GNOME. Please help us raise the money to protect GNOME's trademark and strengthen Free Software!

[greenwizard88]

Groupon's statement:

  

I hate to be a cynic, but will they return all the money if there's no "defense fund" needed?

Any leftover money is going to help fund the development of GNOME.

 

er, I assume they mean the open source software, and not groupon's OS. :rofl:

[francescob]

With the attention this has already got Groupon will likely choose another name.

[Praetor]

With the attention this has already got Groupon will likely choose another name.

 

i do wonder why they did go into this route in the first place... i mean GNOME, as a brand in IT, is pretty well know. Also the fact that they already did register a couple of trademarks, meaning that USPTO didn't even bother checking at all...not surprised, really.

[+E.Worm Jimmy Subscriber¹]

so my $20 will go to support the gnome, not legal fees....

 

after a brief 5 year encounter will open source software, i am ok with helping it. even if this case is dismissed.

[francescob]

i do wonder why they did go into this route in the first place... i mean GNOME, as a brand in IT, is pretty well know. Also the fact that they already did register a couple of trademarks, meaning that USPTO didn't even bother checking at all...not surprised, really.

Maybe they just didn't feel loved hated enough. :(

[simonlang]

wow did not expect this to happen.

[Ironman273]

As per GNOME:

Good to see that that's there in black and white from the get-go.

[+Majesticmerc MVC]

Just to update this thread, it looks like Groupon came to their senses...

UPDATE: After additional conversations with the open source community and the Gnome Foundation, we have decided to abandon our pending trademark applications for ?Gnome.? We will choose a new name for our product going forward.

https://www.groupon.com/blog/cities/gnome-update

[HawkMan]

And in one genius move groupon got more mindshare and awareness for their new product than any amount of marketing.  yes, sure they didn't know about gnome....

[123456789A]

In other news, Groupon just announced Ubuntu, a shopping assistant for your smartphone.

[Unobscured Vision]

And this, my friends, is an example of how change can occur when the FLOSS community comes together, makes enough noise, pools resources/donations and protects one of our own. Say what you want about GNOME -- they're one of ours and we'll fight tooth and nail for it before someone from the outside tries to take it down.

 

Nicely done, all. :applause:

[Praetor]

And in one genius move groupon got more mindshare and awareness for their new product than any amount of marketing.  yes, sure they didn't know about gnome....

 

nobody gives a grap about Groupon, there are so many coupons services at the moment and with better deals anyway...

 

the only thing they did however is increase the hate people have against them.

[exotoxic]

How can it be that they need to spend money to counter trademark applications?? Surley they should just be dismissed when whoever sorts these things out sees that it already exists?!? A big company could just file trademarks to bankrupt a small company. :s

[+Majesticmerc MVC]

How can it be that they need to spend money to counter trademark applications?? Surley they should just be dismissed when whoever sorts these things out sees that it already exists?!? A big company could just file trademarks to bankrupt a small company. :s

 

Unfortunately it's already a legitimate tactic by predatory companies...

 

http://www.snopes.com/politics/business/candycrush.asp

[MikeChipshop Member]

Damn right too.