[CentOS] FYI: CentOS legalese

[Johnny Hughes]

On 02/24/2014 09:44 AM, Keith Keller wrote:
> On 2014-02-24, Brian Miller <centos at fullnote.com> wrote:
>> On Mon, 2014-02-24 at 12:28 +0000, jb wrote:
>>> http://nerdvittles.com/?p=8721
>> The author of those pieces needs to read a bit closer.  His claim:
>>
>>         In a nutshell, the new RedHat Terms of Service outlaw use of
>>         CentOS in any product ???unless the combined distribution is an
>>         official CentOS distribution.???
>>
>> is not supported by any evidence he provides.  What is made clear is
>> that one cannot use the CentOS marks (ie logos, etc.) in a derivative
>> distribution.
> The actual text from what the original blog author cites
> (https://www.centos.org/legal/trademarks/):
>
> "Use of the CentOS Marks to identify software that combines any portion
> of the CentOS software with any other software , unless the combined
> distribution is an official CentOS distribution. For example, you may
> not distribute a combination of the CentOS software with software
> released by the FooStack project under the name ''CentOS FooStack
> Distro''."
>
> So the guidelines prohibit the use of CentOS *Marks*, not CentOS in his
> hypothetical scenario.


Ding, Ding, Ding ... we have a winner.

The goal here is that the compilation can not say it is CentOS unless it
really is CentOS.  How it becomes CentOS is either because it is, in its
entirety something that "CentOS officially released" or it is an
approved SIG/variant in the program we have crated.

Without joining any SIGs, it could say any of the following:
1.  That it is both "FooStack Program" ... and that it "Runs on CentOS"
(if it "DOES NOT" change any of the CentOS packages).

OR

2.  That it is both "FooStack Program" ... and that it is "Based on
CentOS" (if it "DOES" change some of the CentOS packages).

But it can not say it is "CentOS FooStack"

================================================

If the same project actually joins a CentOS SIG and uses the centos,org
SIG build and distribute infrastructure, then it could say (after
approved by the board) that its variant spin is "CentOS FooStack Edition"

================================================

The goal here is that things can not claim that they are CentOS unless
they are.  Every major open source entity has these same restrictions.
You can not build your own things, sign them with your own key and call
it CentOS.

You also can not take a Debian spin ... add your own FooStack programs
to it, then distribute it as Debian FooStack ... and for the same
reasons, if you use their name you have to be official.







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