Thursday, February 14, 2013 - pyfound.blogspot
For anyone who works in a company that has an office in a EU Community member state, we need your help.
There is a company in the UK that is
trying to trademark the use of the term "Python" for all software, services, servers... pretty much anything having to do with a computer. Specifically, it is the company that got a hold on the python.co.uk domain 13 years ago. At that time we weren't looking a lot at trademark issues, and so we didn't get that domain.
This hasn't been an issue since then because the python.co.uk domain has, for most of its life, just forwarded its traffic on to the parent companies, veber.co.uk and pobox.co.uk. Unfortunately, Veber has decided that they want to start using the name "Python" for their server products.
We contacted the owners of python.co.uk repeatedly and tried to discuss the matter with them.
They blew us off and responded by filing the community trademark application claiming the exclusive right to use "Python" for software, servers, and web services - everywhere in Europe. We got legal counsel in the UK and we (the PSF) are opposing the community trademark application,
but our own trademark application hasn't yet matured. Accordingly, we are going with the trademark rights we have developed through using "Python" consistently over the past 20 years. According to our London counsel, some of the best pieces of evidence we can submit to the European trademark office are official letters from well-known companies "using PYTHON branded software in various member states of the EU" so that we can "obtain independent witness statements from them attesting to the trade origin significance of the PYTHON mark in connection with the software and related goods/services." We also need evidence of use throughout the EU.What can you do?
For info and details of how you can help please see
here
