I use Iceweasel (free-branded Firefox) as my browser, mainly because I'm a huge debian fan, but also because dpkg-buildpackage makes it easy for me to build a customized version of it, as I attempt to optimize it for my low-power laptop, an Everex NC1503 with a Via C7 cpu.
In researching how to build Iceweasel, I came across numerous sites both praising and denouncing Debian for ditching Firefox. While I glossed over most of it, I did get the gist that Mozilla restricts the use of the Firefox trademark, and that caused Debian to build their own browser from the same free source code. That got me thinking about Debian's take on trademarks.
Trademarks are an important component in trade, hence the name, and I expect as more businesses embrace open source software, trademarks will rise in importance (as well as patents). Software is all about intellectual property, but intellectual property is much more than copyrights and licenses. As readers will notice, I have added the "TM" to the end of this blog's moniker, and I've also added it to the title of an open source project I'm working on: PBooks Open Source Accounting and Bookkeeping.
With Pbooks, my first serious open source undertaking, I'm relying on the Free Software Foundation for guidance, and I've chosen the Affero GPL as its license. I'm hoping to eventually inclue PBooks into debian, and I don't want the name or logo of PBooks to be a problem. What measures can I take to prevent any issues? For full disclosure, I aim to support development of PBooks with advertising revenue, and as it becomes more stable, eventually offer it as a software as a service. In that event, I may use a separate name, trademark that, and maintain pbooks as the free name, which I guess is similar to how the Mozilla / Firefox / Iceweasel situation worked itself out. Maybe with some planning, there will be less drama.
I'm certain the issue extends beyond Debian, and into the Free Software Foundation, and if any visitors have any thoughts to share, I'd be interested to hear them.