KDE Apps name trademarks

[Martin Steigerwald]

Dear Filipe, dear KDE community,

Filipe Saraiva - 21.07.20, 23:27:52 CEST:
> Em 20/07/2020 07:55, Albert Vaca Cintora escreveu:
> > I think we should be happy there are packagers that distribute our
> > software on Windows, the same way we are happy there are packages
> > distributing our software on Linux distros.
> 
> The problem is not people packing and distributing our software,
> including selling them.
> 
> The problem is people using the original name of our software in an
> environment where we could for ourselves pack and distribute them. If
> I am not wrong, apps stores don't allow a same software using a same
> name but distributed by different "owners".
> 
> If it is the case, we will be in a scenario where we can not use the
> original name of our software to distribute them.
> 
> It is a very different scenario of a Linux distro repository where we
> are not going to pack our software and compete to distro packagers.

Just a question that occurred to me several times as I read new mails in 
this thread:

Has anyone ever tried to talk to the packager of those applications in 
Microsoft Store?

Maybe it can be as easy as telling him "hey, thank you for packaging 
some of our applications, however, we like to do it officially, would you 
consider using a different name, or well even better help us?" or 
something like that?

*Before* setting up any kind of policy as long as there is just one 
person doing this… or are there more?

Being a slight bit ironic here: Could it be that talking to the person 
who creates those packages would actually help to resolve the issues at 
hand? Is this even a possibility?

If it happens repeatedly with other persons as well and on other stores… 
there is still an opportunity to think about an policy… I'd say.

There is a book "Anleitung zum Unglücklichsein" ("how to be unhappy") by 
Paul Watzlawick that I just remembered. In there a person has no hammer. 
But one of the neighbors of him has. But then the one without the hammer 
thinks things like "Oh, he is not going to give it to me anyway"… and 
things like that. Eventually he would go to his neighbor, ring the door, 
and as the neighbor opens tell him "I don't need your frigging hammer!".

Just something to consider.

In case you talked to the person who does those other packages on 
Windows Store already and I missed it… ignore what I wrote as much as 
you like. (Of course you are free to do this in any case.)

Best,
-- 
Martin