red/branding — pull request #1 by hostilefork (2014-07-18 05:10:13+00:00)
Title: Nix the auto-created CC0 license from GitHub... + my advice

Before adding any files to the project, I wanted to set the foundation for the logo rights as being more like what other projects use. That means "All Rights Reserved" and then break down some specific rules that are o.k.

And... one of the strongest reasons to get specific is going to be for protecting *application iconography*. I'm talking about what shows up in the Android market or OS/X dock or wherever. Trademark is about people coming to trust something, and assume that otherwise trustworthy venues would take care of it if that trademark were being abused to misrepresent. Happens a lot:

http://www.neowin.net/news/videolan-team-to-get-fake-vlc-windows-8-app-removed-from-windows-store

So if you are too liberal with the license on a trademark, it creates a problem. There's no grounds for asking even the reputable people to help fix it; because the person "isn't doing anything wrong". So that's why I have gone with how open source projects are leaning in this area...noting that [even creative commons]() reserves all rights on their logo! *(and they are in the business of community license empowerment!)*

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Note this does not mean I think it's worthwhile to *pay* to have anything registered...that being the difference between TM and ®. The courts where this'll wind up being tried will be the court-of-the-app-store. Here you don't have to pay to have a legally defensible stance that something is your trademark. Especially considering this case with a public process with which the stuff was created; and it's on Wikipedia etc...that's solid precedent. Just have to keep the trademark claim status.

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So this is my advice for the "topmost legal". But several materials will be in here and I don't think one license will cover them all. Thus a LEGAL in each folder is the better idea than trying to cover all as one.

I think it will be good to have some free and Creative-Commons style stuff for people to use however they want. We've had some interesting design materials get made along the process, that people might want to contribute if they're not planning on doing anything with them. We're not trying to trademark the word "red" or the idea of Towers of Hanoi here...just something within a particular bandwidth of recognition.