The current Trademark License Agreement is unacceptable

[Mike McGrath]

On Fri, 28 Aug 2009, Christoph Wickert wrote:

> Am Freitag, den 28.08.2009, 08:30 -0500 schrieb Mike McGrath:
> >
> > Honestly as someone who's not involved in this at all and just watching
> > from the outside, it seems like y'all are working hard to find ways to
> > make this not work instead of the other way around.
>
> First of all I'm not really involved ether, because I do not own a
> Fedora* domain. I am member of the Fedora Project and I work hard to get
> the wider community, e. g. people running sites about Fedora involved in
> the Fedora project or to at least enhance the cooperation between them
> and the project. I *want* them to sign a contract, but unfortunately I
> cannot recommend signing the TLA in it's current form, even as a member
> of the project who believes in Red Hat's good will.
>
> Second: Please don't use generalizations like "you all". My position is
> different from Robert's or Richard's for example. But I share their
> concerns, at least to a certain degree.
>
> > After these questions
> > are answered, will you come up with some more?
>
> Not sure about others, but I cannot tell anybody to sign a contract if
> he still has questions.
>

It just feels like the people involved has created a lose lose position
for themselves.

They can't or won't get a lawyer, so they can't get expert advice from
them and have chosen not to trust the RH lawyers.

Since they themselves aren't going to become lawyers they're trying to
interperate the law themselves.  Which is just like getting a lawyer to
try to understand python.  There's a reason developers develop and
lawyers.. law.

And thus they're literally stuck.  Their only option is to trust the
agreement won't take their home away from them.  While I admit that's a
tough place for them to be in, Ville's email was very correct.  There
seems to be no choice but to trust the RH lawyers and the RH company.

Mdomsch was also very correct in that if we start suing our community base
we've failed.  If I were in this position I'd sign the contract and do my
work.  If legal trouble came about and I thought it was unfair.  I'd leave
and spend my volunteer but still skilled labor somewhere else.

	-Mike