[LLVMdev] [llvm-commits] CVS: llvm-www/Name.html

[Morten Ofstad]

Dale Johannesen wrote:
> On Apr 13, 2007, at 9:49 AM, Devang Patel wrote:
>> +    <tr><td>Jeff Cohen</td><th>
>> +        Oscar</th>
>> +      <td>Oscar = Open Source Compiler And Runtime</td></tr>
> 
> Perfect, and very nice backronym.  Unfortunately, Wikipedia says:
> 
>> Both Oscar and Academy Award are registered trademarks of the  
>> Academy [of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences],
>> fiercely protected through litigation and threats thereof.

Wikipedia also says (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trademark):

It is important to note that trademark rights generally arise out of the use and/or registration (see below) of a mark 
in connection only with a specific type or range of products or services. Although it may sometimes be possible to take 
legal action to prevent the use of a mark in relation to products or services outside this range, this does not mean 
that trademark law prevents the use of that mark by the general public. A common word, phrase, or other sign can only be 
removed from the public domain to the extent that a trademark owner is able to maintain exclusive rights over that sign 
in relation to certain products or services, assuming there are no other trademark objections.

I am not a lawyer, but I assume that the Academy will not move into the compiler business anytime soon so it shouldn't 
be a problem. And I really like the name.

By the way, I came up with another idea for a name (which I like less than 'OSCAR', but nevertheless...) It's 
'Primordial', since the compiler is what all other software comes from. And in contrast to oscar.org, primordial.org is 
free for the taking..

m.