The people responsible for this threatening behaviour are possibly the saddest people I have EVER come across. This is beyond ridiculous.
Python-lovers sling 'death threats' at UK ISP in trademark row
UK webhosting outfit Veber has called the police after fending off abuse in the wake of its attempt to trademark "python" in Europe. The small biz said it came under fire from fans of the popular Python programming language. The firestorm appeared to have been ignited by a Python Software Foundation (PSF) blog post on 14 …
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Tuesday 19th February 2013 15:55 GMT Anonymous Coward
But not surprising given the number of people that use the language, and the number of people who will join in "just for lulz"
And anyway they're not as sad as the people that like X-Factor or Eastenders - they're probably on the level of people that have fanatical views about Operating Systems or Browsers.
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Tuesday 19th February 2013 16:17 GMT Destroy All Monsters
"This is beyond ridiculous."
It's also 100% foreseeable.
The only ridiculous thing is that the company of N men and a dog kicked this off in the first place.
It's just pure provocation. "Yeah, we own the name, never heard of PYTHON in relationship to computers, we will trademark it, yadda yadda".
They should have trademarked PRUTON and all of this could have been avoided.
Here's hoping their telephone explodes due to the stupid.
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Tuesday 19th February 2013 16:34 GMT Tel Starr
But they didn't kick it off did they?
They applied for a non-software, but IT related, trademark for a word\name that they had been trading under for 16 years (without objection). Then they get ambushed by an hysterical statement from a monolithic organisation who have made little effort to secure their own rights to the mark in the past (despite being lead by an IP lawyer!)
But the PSF will get a free pass as they not Apple, Google, Microsoft or Games Workshop.
Spots the Space Marine, may I introduce you to Python the Server.
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Tuesday 19th February 2013 16:48 GMT Destroy All Monsters
That's complete BS.
If there was "no objection" then there was no problem, right? Veber owns "python.co.uk" for unknown reasons without having trademarked anything for a long time. The Python language has been called Python for unknown reasons without having trademarked anything for a long time. Then suddenly...
It's pretty rich that you point fingers at the PSF while okaying jerky behaviour by Veber. Whether the PSF is "monolithic" (what?) or not is neither here nor there.
They applied for a non-software
Citation needed...
I have this. You may say it's false, but please do tell me more.
There is a company in the UK that is trying to trademark the use of the term "Python" for all software, services, servers... pretty much anything having to do with a computer. Specifically, it is the company that got a hold on the python.co.uk domain 13 years ago. At that time we weren't looking a lot at trademark issues, and so we didn't get that domain.
This hasn't been an issue since then because the python.co.uk domain has, for most of its life, just forwarded its traffic on to the parent companies, veber.co.uk and pobox.co.uk. Unfortunately, Veber has decided that they want to start using the name "Python" for their server products.
We contacted the owners of python.co.uk repeatedly and tried to discuss the matter with them. They blew us off and responded by filing the community trademark application claiming the exclusive right to use "Python" for software, servers, and web services - everywhere in Europe.
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Tuesday 19th February 2013 17:59 GMT Charlie Clark
The people responsible for this threatening behaviour are possibly the saddest people I have EVER come across. This is beyond ridiculous.
I agree, maybe they'll reconsider and withdraw the trademark application. Oh, you mean the script kiddies who seemingly took down an ISP without much effort? Not very impressive on both sides I'd say but if it was my company I'd be doing my damnedest to make sure there couldn't be a repetition otherwise who is going to want to do business with me?
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Tuesday 19th February 2013 20:55 GMT Anonymous Coward
Problem with grown ups
Is their language got adopted by kids and companies in the hacking community for security testing, fuzzing and all sorts and exploit code delivery in other dark corners of the web use Python to show POCs.
It also got adopted by the scientific community so something about it that has mass appeal.
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Tuesday 19th February 2013 23:43 GMT david 12
This is exactly what I expect from the Python community
Having spent some time reading the Python newsgroup, asking questions and making suggestions.
And reading insults from senior members of the community. And getting insulted for asking questions. And getting insulted for making suggestions (which were later adopted in Python 3).
I spent 5 years in another public newsqroup which was polite and helpful, for a product that had many more users than Python has ever had, so I know it's possible, and it is not just me.
The Python community, like many other online communities, is a bunch of self-rightious, self-important, imature gits, who still manage to think that they are God's own gift to civilization.
Sadly, I see several people here defending their behaviour.
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Wednesday 20th February 2013 04:42 GMT Steen Eugen Poulsen
Re: This is exactly what I expect from the Python community
The Python community, like many other online communities, is a bunch of self-rightious, self-important, imature gits, who still manage to think that they are God's own gift to civilization.
You couldn't be more wrong, you simply don't have the brain capacity as a normal person to understand the geek community. The idiot is people like you who don't understand how to forget a post the second after you have read/typed it. You carry around your venom, burning you up.
I can argue with other geeks and they will still buy me a pint after. The fact I don't drink beer is most likely more an offence than I called them a pile of bantha poodoo.
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Tuesday 19th February 2013 17:02 GMT a cynic writes...
Re: The solution is simple - just change the language's name.
ahem...Sore point. Monty python is a competing mark.
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Tuesday 19th February 2013 15:53 GMT Anonymous Coward
When you kick a hornet nest expect to get stung.
Whether right or wrong.
If you're in IT and do something as monumentally stupid as trying to usurp the name of a popular technology (particularly a community technology) you're going to piss off a lot of people (some who rarely leave their basements except to fire bomb people that threaten their precious something or another.)
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Tuesday 19th February 2013 18:20 GMT Ian McNee
Perfectly understood...
@dotdavid: how many of us had heard of Veber before they pulled this stupid stunt? Maybe Veber is not doing so well and some bright spark there says: "Hey I have this brilliant idea to get us some free publicity! You know we own that domain python.co.uk....?" etc.
There is no proof of this but at best Poultney is being disingenuous:
Poultney claims he’s only interested in the trademark on the servers. “We are not interested in the trademark on the language,” Poultney told The Reg.
Well, Mr Poultney, your IPO filing (linked to by a cynic writes... above) says otherwise. And if you want a friendly chat with PSF about this why send your lawyers to talk to them?
Frankly Poultney/Veber's behaviour has been crass and probably dishonest and he should have known better than to expose his staff to the inevitable response generated by his cynical stunt.
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Tuesday 19th February 2013 21:12 GMT Anonymous Coward
Re: Perfectly understood...
Actually, having read the filing, I find that PSF is the one being disingenuous.
The Chairman of the PSF, a blowhard lawyer, knowingly and deliberately posted false and inflammatory information on his blog while representing the PSF. Those false and inflammatory postings lead to criminal action by the PSF's followers.
Had he done this against a US company and not a UK one, he would likely be served with a criminal complaint.
He is a lawyer and he should know better - but alas, like most lawyers he thinks that he is above the law. It is a shame that such a fine tool as Python should be tarnished by his actions.
(Anonymous, because the PSF followers have already shown their propensity towards criminal activity)
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Tuesday 19th February 2013 19:18 GMT Anonymous Coward
@dotdavid
"The bit I'm failing to understand is why they think they need to trademark Python,"
Me neither, but whatever.
"and why they thought no-one in a community known for its "passion" wouldn't mind."
Presumably they don't read The Reg's forums. If they had they'd realise that filing patents justifies any behaviour in the eyes of some people. Shame to see the word "inevitable" being used to mean "It's acceptable - they asked for it, after all." Some people here could only aspire to be pathetic some day.
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Wednesday 20th February 2013 00:31 GMT Anonymous Coward
Re: When you kick a hornet nest expect to get stung.
Your normal people are pretty stupid then. Also you seem to fail to understand the concept of a metaphor which I assume explains your definition of normal people. In fact it probably explains why you think that there is such a thing as a normal person.
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Wednesday 20th February 2013 00:41 GMT Anonymous Coward
Re: When you kick a hornet nest expect to get stung.
You're also confusing intelligence with behavior and social aptitude. Also confusing social aptitude with behavior... actually you're bundling lots of things together that don't have much to do with each other. You can be an intelligent, socially inept, mass murderer, an intelligent, charismatic mass murderer. a stupid, charismatic, mass murderer, an intelligent charismatic mass murderer, you can be an intelligent, charismatic, nice person, (I think we get the picture.)
And with tens of thousands of people using the language (who knows how many, lots and lots and lots) only an idiot would believe them all to be nice well adjusted human beings.
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Tuesday 19th February 2013 16:05 GMT Radbruch1929
European Patent Office?
"According to the European Patents Office, nobody in Europe currently holds a trademark on Python."
@Mr. Clarke:
Could this be the "Office for Harmonization in the Internal Market (Trade Marks and Designs)" in Alicante, Spain, eventually? The European Patent Office is in Munich and concerns itself with patents, not trademarks as far as I understand.
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Tuesday 19th February 2013 16:19 GMT Jamie Jones
I can't believe some of you think they should have 'expected' this
They have had the domain since 1997. I don't agree with them getting any trademark that conflicts with the python language, but there is no excuse for threatening phone calls and emails.
*prepares to be downvoted by fanbois that don't live in the real world*