The PostgreSQL DBMS developer community was faced with an attempt to seize the project's trademarks. Fundación PostgreSQL, a non-profit organization not affiliated with the PostgreSQL developer community, has registered the trademarks “PostgreSQL” and “PostgreSQL Community” in Spain, and has also applied for similar trademarks in the United States and the European Union.
The intellectual property associated with the PostgreSQL project, including the Postgres and PostgreSQL trademarks, is managed by the PostgreSQL Core Team. The official trademarks of the project are registered in Canada under the organization PGCAC (PostgreSQL Community Association of Canada), representing the interests of the community and acting on behalf of the PostgreSQL Core Team. Trademarks are available for free use, subject to certain rules (for example, use of the word PostgreSQL in a company name, third-party product name, or domain name requires approval from the PostgreSQL development team).
In 2020, the third-party organization Fundación PostgreSQL, without prior approval from the PostgreSQL Core Team, began the process of registering the trademarks “PostgreSQL” and “PostgreSQL Community” in the United States and the European Union. In response to a request from PostgreSQL developers, representatives of Fundación PostgreSQL explained that through their actions they are trying to protect the PostgreSQL brand. In the correspondence, Fundación PostgreSQL was advised that the registration of trademarks associated with the project by a third party violated the project's trademark rules, created conditions that were misleading to users, and conflicted with the mission of PGCAC, which protects the intellectual property of the project.
In response, Fundación PostgreSQL made it clear that it was not going to withdraw the submitted applications, but was ready to negotiate with the PGCAC. The community's representative organization, PGCAC, sent a proposal to resolve the conflict but received no response. After this, together with the European representative office of PostgreSQL Europe (PGEU), the PGCAC organization decided to officially challenge the applications submitted by the Fundación PostgreSQL organization to register the trademarks “PostgreSQL” and “PostgreSQL Community”.
While preparing to submit documents, Fundación PostgreSQL filed another application to register the trademark "Postgres", which was perceived as a deliberate violation of trademark policy and a potential threat to the project. For example, control of trademarks can be used to take over project domains.
After another attempt to resolve the conflict, the owner of Fundación PostgreSQL said that he was ready to withdraw applications only on his own terms, aimed at weakening PGCAC and the ability of third parties to control PostgreSQL trademarks. The PostgreSQL Core Team and PGCAC recognized such requirements as unacceptable due to the danger of losing control over project resources. The PostgreSQL developers continue to feast their eyes on the possibility of a peaceful solution to the problem, but are ready to use all opportunities to repel attempts to appropriate the Postgres, PostgreSQL and PostgreSQL Community trademarks.
Source: opennet.ru