about software name...

[unclebob]

hi ,
sorry , it's not related to c++ lang directly, but c++ is related to my
project , so maybe someone will be so kind to answer this...

I'm about to start open source project and I've chosen a name. Looks
like it's not used anywhere.
how do I make sure I have all rights to this name?
is it enough to create web site and announce the start of this project?

I don't have money to pay for trademarks,of course...
thanks.

 

[Victor Bazarov]

sorry , it's not related to c++ lang directly, but c++ is related to my
project , so maybe someone will be so kind to answer this...

I'm about to start open source project and I've chosen a name. Looks
like it's not used anywhere.
how do I make sure I have all rights to this name?
is it enough to create web site and announce the start of this project?

Find a newsgroup with the word "legal" in its name.

IANAL, but from what I understand as soon as you publish the name, it's
yours. Copyright law is based on "de facto" rights, not on any kind of
"registeration". You might want to assert the copyright on the same
page by stating your name and a way to contact you.

V

 

[Jorgen Grahn]

hi ,
sorry , it's not related to c++ lang directly, but c++ is related to my
project , so maybe someone will be so kind to answer this...

I'm about to start open source project and I've chosen a name. Looks
like it's not used anywhere.
how do I make sure I have all rights to this name?
is it enough to create web site and announce the start of this project?

Better to publish it on sites like github and freshmeat.net, so others
can find it more easily.

I don't know if your worries are justified or not, but this at least
helps against accidental naming problems (it's where /I/ would look
for conflicting names).

../Jorgen

 

[Miles Bader]

Better to publish it on sites like github and freshmeat.net, so others
can find it more easily.

I don't know if your worries are justified or not, but this at least
helps against accidental naming problems (it's where /I/ would look
for conflicting names).

In general it's kind of a hard problem, because most single sites or
other sources of info -- e.g. debian package names -- tend to reflect
certain communities, so to be realllly sure, you need to check quite a
few places.

[and then you discover the awful true: all names have already been used
.... :]

--miles

-
Infancy, n. The period of our lives when, according to Wordsworth, 'Heaven
lies about us.' The world begins lying about us pretty soon afterward.

 

[BGB]

Better to publish it on sites like github and freshmeat.net, so others
can find it more easily.

I don't know if your worries are justified or not, but this at least
helps against accidental naming problems (it's where /I/ would look
for conflicting names).

In general it's kind of a hard problem, because most single sites or
other sources of info -- e.g. debian package names -- tend to reflect
certain communities, so to be realllly sure, you need to check quite a
few places.

[and then you discover the awful true: all names have already been used
... :]

yeah, it is like trying to find an unused TLA (Three Letter Acronym) or
FLA (Four Letter Acronym). it is all a bit hit or miss...

by the time one has 5 or 6 letters, it is a bit easier.

single words or short strings of words are similarly awkward.

 

[Paul N]

hi ,
sorry , it's not related to c++ lang directly, but c++ is related to my
project , so maybe someone will be so kind to answer this...

I'm about to start open source project and I've chosen a name. Looks
like it's not used anywhere.
how do I make sure I have all rights to this name?
is it enough to create web site and announce the start of this project?

I don't have money to pay for trademarks,of course...
thanks.

You can't do much without paying any money. Obviously try typing the
name into Google and see if anything comes up. You could also do a
quick check whether anyone has a registered trademark for the name -
try

http://www.uspto.gov/trademarks/basics/

for in the US (click on "search marks") and try

http://www.ipo.gov.uk/tm/t-find/t-find-text/

for the UK. If you start using the name then you get some rights to it
automatically, but these can be trumped by anyone who was using, or
had registered, the name before you.