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http://www.linuxstart.com/~rodolfo/openletter.html
These pages are a open letter to the Linux Community signed by a
group of users to show the problems that they are living with the name
LINUX in Uruguay.
Uruguayan SuSE reseller wish to obtain exclusive rights on the
LINUX name
With No. 316.081 of August 30, 1999 has been filed before the
Uruguayan Trademark Office a trademark application for registration of
the LINUX name to International class 42 (computer related services).
This application has been filed by Mr. Francisco Pereira and Mr.
Enrique Place de Cuadro, addressed at 1207 Pedro Berro Street, Esc.
603, of Montevideo, Uruguay. In accordance with the official
publication from the Industrial Property Bulletin No. 6 of December
1999.
Mr. Pereira and Place are part of the firm called LinuxTECH who is
the reseller of the SuSE Linux distribution for Uruguay.
This is a improper proceeding by somebody to obtain exclusive rights
over the LINUX name through the known way to register the trademark in
the own name.
Since Mr. Pereira and Mr. Place have started their activity in
Uruguay with LinuxTECH company they have not stopped to looking for
seize exclusive commercialization of Linux in Uruguay:
Firstly, they obtain the exclusive representation to sell SuSE
distribution, with which they prevented that anybody can import SuSE
Linux, as several people of the Uruguayan community came doing. This
has been resisted by some users who, by means of protest, have
obtained that German SuSE send the new distritutions directly to them.
Immediately they created its own company calling with a copy of the
wellknown Suisse company LINUXTECH. Of course, they also filed their
own trademark application LINUXTECH under No. 316.082 saying thath the
name LINUXTECH is of their own property.
Into their commercial name they do not doubt to place the word
LINUX (LinuxTECH). Without any doubt the use of the world LINUX in
the commercial name allows they to rise to the prestige that enjoys
LINUX in the market, taking advantage of the freedom that enjoys LINUX
for its generalized use. (Nobody would be happend to initiate a
computer company called MicrosofTECH of WindowsTECH, seeing that
without doubts it would have legal troubles).
Afterwards, they register under the .uy DNS the domain
www.linux.com.uy, being in the knowledge that the Uruguay Linux User
Group have and use the domain www.linux.org.uy since 1997. With this
action Mr. Pereira and Mr. Place want to "capture" the unprepared
internaut who looking to accede to the UYLUG site falls in their
pages.
Finally, they try to make official the deffinitive apropriation of
the LINUX name appling the registration in their behalf.
The Uruguay Linux User Group -UYLUG- through representatives of
their Board of Directors has tried to dialog with Mr. Pereira and
Place to obtain at least the withdrawal to their improper application
of registration but without any doubt, it is facing people which use
aggressive commercial tactics and do not know the opening principles,
cooperation and solidarity that exist into the Linux community.
From already the Uruguay Linux User Group will take ahead all the
legal and out-legal actions to obtain these two people do not see made
the LINUX name total control.
Montevideo, January 6,2000
Signed by:
Pablo Boix, Federico Gamio, Heber Godoy, Manuel Perez, Rodolfo
Pilas, Andres Tarallo
You can get the letter also at:
http://www.linuxstart.com/~rodolfo/openletter.html
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