Canonical tries to stop fan website using Ubuntu name and logo
Canonical, the team behind Ubuntu, finds itself the subject of criticism after contacting an Ubuntu related website and asking that the domain name be changed. Fix Ubuntu was created by Micah Lee to provide Ubuntu users with instructions about how to disable the web component of the desktop search tool. Lee was emailed by Canonical to request that he not only stop using the word "Ubuntu" in the domain name, but also refrained from using the logo.
The reason? Canonical's email suggests that the name and use of logo could cause confusion among Ubuntu users:
Unfortunately, in this instance we cannot give you permission to use Ubuntu trademarks on your website and in your domain name as they may lead to confusion or the misunderstanding that your website is associated with Canonical or Ubuntu.
Lee has reproduced the full text of the email in a blog post and explains that he has decided to remove the logo. The domain name, however, remains the same -- for now at least. To help make things a little clearer and to avoid the confusion that Canonical is clearly so worried about, Lee has added a little disclaimer, seemingly written with tongue planted firmly in cheek (or blood boiling, perhaps):
Disclaimer: In case you are either 1) a complete idiot; or 2) a lawyer; or 3) both, please be aware that this site is not affiliated with or approved by Canonical Limited. This site criticizes Canonical for certain privacy-invading features of Ubuntu and teaches users how to fix them. So, obviously, the site is not approved by Canonical. And our use of the trademarked term Ubuntu is plainly descriptive -- it helps the public find this site and understand its message.
There are numerous other unofficial Ubuntu websites that use the word Ubuntu in their domain name including the popular OMG Ubuntu. Lee intends to continue to use the domain, arguing that use of the name falls under "nominative use". There could well be a stream of communication over the coming days and weeks, but if the responses to Lee's blog post are anything to go by, Canonical has not won itselfs any new fans with this move.