Linked by Thom Holwerda on Thu 28th Sep 2006 22:44 UTC, submitted by csousa
Debian adheres to a strict interpretation of what is Free Software and what isn't. The Firefox logo is trademarked, so Debian doesn't consider it to be Free and will not include it as part of its distribution. Mozilla claims that using the Firefox name without the official branding is a trademark violation. Furthermore, Mozilla claims that if Debian runs any patches to the version of Firefox included with Debian distros, it has to run them by Mozilla first for approval. What all this ultimately could mean is that the Firefox name is wiped from the face of Debian and its offshoots. Debian developer Eric Dorland confirmed to internetnews.com that Debian will re-name Firefox and that the re-naming process could be completed as soon as next week.
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Member since:2005-06-29
http://www.gnu.org/copyleft/gpl.html
It's within Debian's rights. I think it's silly, but it's probably just Debian following its own rules without exception.
I've never liked intolerant rules much, but oh well. It's not really a big deal...
RE[3]: So much for freedom
by Anonymous Coward on Fri 29th Sep 2006 02:01
in reply to "RE[2]: So much for freedom"
Member since:2005-07-06
RE[3]: So much for freedom
by Don Grayson on Fri 29th Sep 2006 02:06
in reply to "RE[2]: So much for freedom"
Member since:2006-01-01
http://www.gnu.org/copyleft/gpl.html
It's within Debian's rights. I think it's silly, but it's probably just Debian following its own rules without exception.
I've never liked intolerant rules much, but oh well. It's not really a big deal...
Umm, Firefox is licensed under the Mozilla Public License, not the GPL.
http://www.mozilla.org/MPL/
Member since:2006-06-09
Member since:
2005-07-06
I think Mozilla are perfectly within their rights, Firefox is finally getting brand recognition. Whats the point of them spending all this money on marketing if each distro then changes the name of the software THEY produced?!