Re: Re: Some clarification?: GPL/Open Source: Naieve Question

["Yurgi Branktoff" <yurgi () earthling net>]

Several people have asked me off list if I received an answer offline from this post and I haven't, but thought that 
Marty might not be monitoring the list as closely as he used to so I'm attempting a repost and cc'ing Marty since it's 
obvious that a lot of people want to know the answers to these questions.

-= Yurgi =-

----- Original Message -----
From: "Yurgi Branktoff" <yurgi () earthling net>
Date: Mon, 18 Aug 2003 14:20:32 -0500 
To: snort-users () lists sourceforge net
Subject: [Snort-users] Re: Some clarification?: GPL/Open Source:  Naieve Question

> While, I'm not a lawyer either. I am a second year law student, studying "cybercrime" (yeah, I know).
>
> There are a couple of things I think are silly about the legal statements on the "Snort.org" site, for what it's 
> worth.
>
> > "Sourcefire and Snort are trademarks or registered trademarks of
> > Sourcefire, INC. patents pending."
>
> Anyone can claim a trademark on anything, that's when the (tm) is used. The use of the line "trademarks or registered 
> trademarks" almost universally means that at least one of the registrations   for the trademarks has not yet been 
> approved by the USPTO. This usually takes up to 6 months or more to complete.
>
> Should they obtain the registered trademarks, other than for the Sourcefire name, it really doesn't mean a whole lot. 
> The only time it should come into play is if another security project is started that is not directly based on Snort, 
> but which also uses the name Snort. Anything based directly on Snort, such as a third party branch of the code tree, 
> could still be denoted as Snort or Snort based without violating any trademarks, since it was in common use for years 
> before being trademarked, in addition to many other factors.
>
> Sourcefire Registered Trademark:
> http://tarr.uspto.gov/servlet/tarr?regser=serial&entry=78079299
> http://tarr.uspto.gov/servlet/tarr?regser=serial&entry=78080052
>
> "Computer software, namely, for use in computer network security intrusion detection, filtering and analysis"
>
>
> Snort Trademark Application: (The technical support services section may be an area of concern)
>  http://tarr.uspto.gov/servlet/tarr?regser=serial&entry=78240085
>  http://tarr.uspto.gov/servlet/tarr?regser=serial&entry=78237245
>
> "Computer hardware and software for use in computer network security intrusion detection, filtering and analyis; and 
> technical support services, namely, troubleshooting of computer hardware and software problems"
>
>
> > So is Snort really distributed as an open-source/GPL distribution or is
> > Snort.ORG actually the marketing and distribution arm of Sourcefire,
> > Inc.? If patents are pending then are we all users be required to pay
> > royalties at some point? Isn't this all in conflict with the open source
> > and GPL? I am bit confused now.
>
> The GPL license, would superceed any patents concerning use of the Snort code base. However, it is theoretical that 
> they could apply for and possibly hold patents on certain implementations of technology used within Snort, so that if 
> a third party were to "reinvent the wheel" -- so to speak, and create their own implementation, then there could 
> potentially be a patent violation. It would be pretty difficult to prove though, since it would have the possibility 
> of becoming a common code element -- either implied or in actual use -- because it is licensed under the GPL. Also, 
> I'd like to point out that it is very odd to write "patents pending." on a website footer legal notice, particuarly 
> without proper capitalization.
>
> That said, it is my own personal feeling that they are possibly feeling a bit regretful over their own licensing 
> policies, and may be seeking out ways to have the best of both worlds in order to appeal to their investors. Patents 
> and trademarks are common for all companies to obtain, however it does seem a bit extraneous on the "Snort.org" 
> website. Naturally, it would be horrendous PR for them to pursue any trademark infringments of the "Snort" name and 
> any patent war chest they may be building based on code they've released under the GPL would certainly put them in 
> the same light as SCO is currently in.
>
>
> Once again, IANYAL (I am not yet a lawyer), but I do believe I have been factually correct.
>
>
> Since there has been some obvious radio silence from Sourcefire on an answer to this, for everyone's clarity, maybe 
> they could definitively answer a few questions.
>
> 1) Are there any patents or trademarks in the works that would limit in any way how people are currently able to use 
> Snort?
>
> 2) Marty Roesch once said on the mailing list "we [Sourcefire] just provide the data management, GUIs, ease of use, 
> deployability, etc that you get with our product line".  
>
> Is Sourcefire still giving the community *all* of the core Snort technology, and is the Sourcefire product line 
> limited to that which surrounds the publically accessible Snort version?
>
> 3) Will you begin pursuing consultants and other Snort based enterprises from using the Snort name and/or the GPL'd 
> version of Snort, regardless of the legal pitfalls?
>
> 4) What are your intentions for the future of the GPL based Snort? Will it eventually be cut off?
>
> I'm sure we'd all like to know once and for all.
>
>
> -= Yurgi =-
>
> -- 
> __________________________________________________________
> Sign-up for your own personalized E-mail at Mail.com
> http://www.mail.com/?sr=signup
>
> CareerBuilder.com has over 400,000 jobs. Be smarter about your job search
> http://corp.mail.com/careers
>
>
>
> -------------------------------------------------------
> This SF.Net email sponsored by: Free pre-built ASP.NET sites including
> Data Reports, E-commerce, Portals, and Forums are available now.
> Download today and enter to win an XBOX or Visual Studio .NET.
> http://aspnet.click-url.com/go/psa00100003ave/direct;at.aspnet_072303_01/01
> _______________________________________________
> Snort-users mailing list
> Snort-users () lists sourceforge net
> Go to this URL to change user options or unsubscribe:
> https://lists.sourceforge.net/lists/listinfo/snort-users
> Snort-users list archive:
> http://www.geocrawler.com/redir-sf.php3?list=snort-users

-- 
__________________________________________________________
Sign-up for your own personalized E-mail at Mail.com
http://www.mail.com/?sr=signup

CareerBuilder.com has over 400,000 jobs. Be smarter about your job search
http://corp.mail.com/careers



-------------------------------------------------------
This SF.net email is sponsored by Dice.com.
Did you know that Dice has over 25,000 tech jobs available today? From
careers in IT to Engineering to Tech Sales, Dice has tech jobs from the
best hiring companies. http://www.dice.com/index.epl?rel_code=104
_______________________________________________
Snort-users mailing list
Snort-users () lists sourceforge net
Go to this URL to change user options or unsubscribe:
https://lists.sourceforge.net/lists/listinfo/snort-users
Snort-users list archive:
http://www.geocrawler.com/redir-sf.php3?list=snort-users