GNOME Gets GroupedOn

GroupOn, a sort of Internet sales discount coupon company has recently announced a point-of-sale tablet called “Gnome”. The GNOME Foundation, by virtue of having used that name since the 1990’s and having trademarked it in 2006, objects strongly to what it sees as a blatant infringement of its trademark. The organization is scrambling to file its opposition to GroupOn’s new trademark filings, but that takes work — and money. So there is now a fund-raising effort in the works to help make this opposition happen. “Help us raise the funds to fight back and most of all call public attention to this terrible behavior by Groupon. Help us make sure that when people hear about GNOME software they learn about freedom and not proprietary software. Our counsel has advised us that we will need $80,000 to oppose the registration of the first set of 10 applications. If we are able to defend the mark without spending this amount, we will use the remaining funds to bolster and improve GNOME.“