--- Michael Perelman <michael at ecst.csuchico.edu> wrote
> On Tue, Aug 28, 2001 at 02:54:36PM -0700, Lawrence wrote:
> > Here, things are almost reversed. IBM will be taking orders
> > from others, partly the on-campus crowd that does so much of the work.
> > Unless IBM can find a way to order students to do just what it wants, it
> > will have to bend with the on-campus fads. More so, nothing can get into
> the
> > Linux Kernel without the approval of Linus Torvaldos, and he is not an IBM
> > employee.
But this fact is much less overwhelming than it might seem. The point about the "Linux kernel" is true, but only because Torvalds owns the brand name "Linux" (in the absolutely conventional sense that it is a registered trademark, which he owns). IBM can take the kernel and do what they like with it, as long as they don't call it "Linux". Torvalds' relationship with IBM would seem to be reasonably similar to the relationship of JK Rowling to Warner Brothers with respect to the Harry Potter brand, and I doubt that anyone on this list or elsewhere is under any delusions about whether that represents a significant shift in power relationships.
dd
===== ... in countries which do not enjoy Mediterranean sunshine idleness is more difficult, and a great public propaganda will be required to inaugurate it. -- Bertrand Russell
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