as part of team at LinuxOS.sk , i has started two months ago www.linuxeshop.eu (currently in slovak and czech language) where i sell t-shirts, cups, ... with linux themes.
some percents (5%- 12%) of every selled item goes monthly to direct community (example, if sold 3 pieces of debian tshirts and 6 of mint tshirts i will paid 5% of 3 tshirts to debian community and 5% of 6 tshirts to mint community)
is it possible? because some my visitors wants fedora linux shirts and mugs.
many thanks!
kind regards, Milan
For what it is worth, we have never approved requests like this in the past. There are some key reasons for this:
In order to keep the trademarks in good standing, Red Hat has to ensure that when the marks are used on merchandise that the quality of the goods is high and that the mark is not misused in any way. The process of ensuring this with a vendor is lengthy, complicated, and burdensome for both parties. For example, it involves a quality control process where Red Hat reviews (and approves) all designs, then has samples sent to Red Hat for consideration, before any Fedora branded goods can be sold.
It would involve a limited trademark license grant, which is legal paperwork. We are not interested in providing "naked" trademark licensing to anyone, no matter how well intentioned.
Most of these requests are for very small localized resellers. This means that our widely distributed community may not be able to get access to these sold items without paying steep shipping or taxes.
It is complicated to get the "5%" back. In the past, this was impossible, now, it's not, but it is still not trivial.
These requests do not come from established parts of the Fedora community (e.g. Ambassadors trying to make non-software goods as giveaways at events).
It is my opinion (as Fedora Legal) that we would rather set up a larger "Fedora store" of our own, with a partner that is able to work on an international scale (or perhaps a select few regional partners) where Red Hat/Fedora has direct control over the offerings and can minimize the complexity of the relationship. This is in fact what Ruth is currently working on.
As a result, I strongly advise that the Board not grant this request for non-software logo use.
FWIW, I agree with Spot, although we can deeply appreciate the offer from the LinuxOS.sk team, and their willingness to direct a percentage to the project.
+1 Paul I do appreciate your offer, but as a board member, my duty is to listen our Legal counseling and protect our trademark.
My vote: -1
@Spot: thanks for your explanation, it's not easy to decide on things without a clear understanding.
Also, I should have noted, my input was provided with context of having received and advised on similar offers in the past. I'm not aware of anything fundamental that's changed that would affect the reasoning Spot laid out. Obviously I have no vote here. :-)
@Paul: you're welcome to share with us some wisdom and your experience :)
I share the regrets and appreciate your wish to do this, but agree with Spot and Paul. So, officially, -1.
And yes, we are working on our own store -- not to compete (we won't be making any profit), but just to make it easy for people go get goodies. It's my understanding that this will be US first but there is a potential to go global.
Hi Milan,
It is with regret that I need to vote to deny this request. Doing so places too great a burden on those providing legal support to Fedora. I wish it were otherwise but it really can't be avoided.
-1
John
Replying to [comment:7 inode0]:
Hi Milan, It is with regret that I need to vote to deny this request. Doing so places too great a burden on those providing legal support to Fedora. I wish it were otherwise but it really can't be avoided. -1
Well worded John. I am also -1 with the same sentiments above.
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