The developers are looking for alternative names

Apr 2, 2015 06:36 GMT  ·  By

The developers of Evolve OS have just announced that they need to change the name of the distribution because it apparently infringes on a trademark held by the Secretary of State in UK.

Many other projects have been affected by this kind of trademarks, and the only solution is to comply. The other solution is to challenge that trademark in court, but that means hiring lawyers and fighting a battle for an operating system that is freely distributable and that is not done for profit.

Like most trademark infringements, the problem that's affecting Evolve OS is a stupid one and has nothing to do with the scope of the project or the target audience. It's true that in some cases you really need to enforce that trademark, and we've seen this happen with GNOME, but that was a clear violation. In the case of Evolve OS, it is a ridiculous claim, but it's a claim nonetheless and the developers must comply.

It's not about Evolve; it's about the OS

Most people will think that it has something to do with the name Evolve, which is used in numerous products, but they would be wrong. The problem is with the OS part, which apparently is under a trademark in UK, held by the Secretary of State.

"We will be required to change the name of the Evolve OS project, to avoid unnecessary legal action. All I will say right now is that the dispute is UK specific, and I have been informed that the relevant trademarks are held by the Secretary of State. The letter goes beyond asking for a withdrawal of trademark application and asks we stop using the 'mark.'

"Clearly this is going to be an expensive and painful road in either direction, so we shall go with a rename," said the developers on Google+.

You can also check the trademark for the OS part, which is registered with The Secretary of State for Business, Innovation, and Skills, through a company called FIELD FISHER WATERHOUSE LLP.

The developers have also asked for the help of the community in order to come up with a new name that would be free of trademark infringements. If you have any ideas, make sure you leave a comment on the Google+ entry.