Organization:Linux Mark Institute

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Short description: Organization which administers the "Linux" trademark
LMI Oregon, LLC
TypeLimited liability company
Websitewww.linuxmark.org

The Linux Mark Institute (LMI, fully "LMI Oregon, LLC"[1]) is an organization which administers the "Linux" trademark on behalf of Linus Torvalds for computer software which includes the Linux kernel, computer hardware utilizing Linux-based software, and for services associated with the implementation and documentation of Linux-based products.

Trademark

The Linux trademark is owned by Linus Torvalds in the U.S.,[2] Germany, the E.U., and Japan for "Computer operating system software to facilitate computer use and operation". The assignment of the trademark to Torvalds occurred after a lawsuit against attorney William R. Della Croce Jr., of Boston, who had registered the trademark in the US in September 1995[3] and began in 1996 to send letters to various Linux distributors, demanding ten percent of royalties from sales of Linux products.[4] A petition against Della Croce's practices was started,[5] and in early 1997, WorkGroup Solutions, Yggdrasil, Linux Journal, Linux International, and Torvalds appealed the original trademark assignment as "fraudulent and obtained under false pretenses".[5] By November, the case was settled and Torvalds owned the trademark.[3]

History

LMI originally charged a nominal sublicensing fee for use of the Linux name as part of trademarks,[4] but later changed this in favor of offering a free, perpetual worldwide sublicense.[6]

LMI was headquartered in Monterey, California until at least 2005.[7][8] Since at least 2009 it was headquartered in Beaverton, Oregon.[9]

References

  1. ↑ "LMI OREGON, LLC in Oregon". https://www.oregoncompanies.org/lmi-oregon-llc. 
  2. ↑ Linux US trademark registration
  3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 Richardson, Marjorie (1 November 1997). "Ownership of Linux Trademark Resolved". Linux Journal (43). http://www.linuxjournal.com/article/2559. 
  4. ↑ 4.0 4.1 Neil McAllister (2005-09-05). "Linus gets tough on Linux trademark". InfoWorld. http://www.infoworld.com/article/2671387/operating-systems/linus-gets-tough-on-linux-trademark.html. 
  5. ↑ 5.0 5.1 Hughes, Phil (1 March 1997). "Action Taken on Linux Trademark". Linux Journal (35). http://www.linuxjournal.com/article/2098. 
  6. ↑ "Linux Mark Institute". http://www.linuxmark.org. "LMI has restructured its sublicensing program. Our new sublicense agreement is: Free — approved sublicense holders pay no fees; Perpetual — sublicense terminates only in breach of the agreement or when your organization ceases to use its mark; Worldwide — one sublicense covers your use of the mark anywhere in the world" 
  7. ↑ "Linux Sublicense Agreement". http://www.linuxmark.org/forms/linux_licence_doc.html. 
  8. ↑ "Changes at the Linux Mark Institute". June 22, 2005. https://lwn.net/Articles/140670/. 
  9. ↑ "Sublicense Agreement | The Linux Mark Institute". http://www.linuxfoundation.org/programs/legal/trademark/sublicense-agreement. 

External links




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