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Xref: sserve gnu.misc.discuss:6146 comp.org.eff.talk:8955 comp.unix.bsd:4630 comp.os.mach:2078 misc.int-property:482 Newsgroups: gnu.misc.discuss,comp.org.eff.talk,comp.unix.bsd,comp.os.mach,misc.int-property,alt.suit.att-bsdi Path: sserve!manuel!munnari.oz.au!uunet!haven.umd.edu!darwin.sura.net!sgiblab!a2i!dhesi From: dhesi@rahul.net (Rahul Dhesi) Subject: Are you sure UNIX is a trade mark? Message-ID: <Bu5DBu.IA6@rahul.net> Sender: news@rahul.net (Usenet News) Nntp-Posting-Host: bolero Organization: a2i network References: <1992Sep1.090548.8351@uhura1.uucp> <1992Sep1.130800.14354@news.acns.nwu.edu> <MJB.92Sep1163324@oak7.doc.ic.ac.uk> <EDWI5ZL@taronga.com> <1992Sep2.220141.17026@nntp.hut.fi> <1992Sep4.234429.18294@newsgate.sps.mot.com> Date: Sun, 6 Sep 1992 08:09:29 GMT Lines: 30 In article <1992Sep4.234429.18294@newsgate.sps.mot.com> entitled "AT&T Long Distance Boycott (was: BNR2SS, Mach, and The Lawsuit)", dichter@chdasic.sps.mot.com (Carl Dichter) writes, among other things: >That's one reason why it is an issue: Right or wrong, BSDI (with the >help of CSRG) is selling a product, (occasionally) calling it UNIX without any >payment or credit to ATT/USL. Let me quote from AT&T's "UNIX SYSTEM V RELEASE 4 BSD/XENIX compatibility Guide", which has an AT&T logo on the cover. My copy has ISBN 0-13-933664-8. On page 1 we find: UNIX System V Release 4.0 is, among other things, a merge of UNIX System V with the enhanced BSD UNIX Operating System. (BSD UNIX is also known as "Berkeley UNIX.") AT&T is correct. BSD UNIX is indeed also known as "Berkeley UNIX." (And this implicitly admits that BSD is also known as "BSD UNIX.") The terms "BSD UNIX" and "Berkeley UNIX" have come into common use. Note that "UNIX" is a noun and "BSD" or "Berkeley" is a qualifier. A trade mark, under US law, cannot be a noun. As soon as it becomes a noun in common usage, its trade mark status is in jeopardy. I'll make you a deal. Give me the same legal budget that AT&T has. If I can't prove in court that UNIX is no longer a trade mark, I will paint my head yellow. -- Rahul Dhesi <dhesi@rahul.net> also: dhesi@cirrus.com