Jon “maddog” Hall introduces us to the Linux Mark Institute in this overview of trademarks as they relate to 'Linux'. The Linux Mark Institute was created to handle licensing of the term 'Linux' to companies and individuals wanting to incorporate it into their own trademarks. Hall writes . . .

“Trademarks and Linux make a funny combination. Normally, a trademark is meant to be kept private, and the company who owns the trademark is expected to 'defend' the trademark's every use to maintain ownership. Linus Torvalds is the owner of the trademark 'Linux' in several countries around the world, but instead of keeping the usage for himself, he would like to see everyone using the term 'Linux' for any legitimate need.”

“If the world was perfect, all you would have to do is put the term 'Linux' into the public domain just like the word 'brick'. However, if the word 'Linux' was in the public domain, then Linus could not prevent someone from using the term 'Linux' in what he feels are negative ways . . .”

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