It's unclear from this whether or not Python would have to change the name of the programming language if they didn't get the trademark, or whether this UK company would just have the right to call their products "Python" too.
Early in the article it says: "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.".
And later it says, where the Python foundation is soliciting comments: "your view that another company using term Python to refer to services, software, and servers would be confusing".
I for one hope the Python foundation doesn't get an exclusive trademark for all "software, services, servers" in the E.U. Outside of software "Python" is a well-known generic name for an animal, I don't think the EU should be protecting such generic names.
But on the other hand it would also suck if this U.K. company gained exclusive use over the trademark.
Our main point of contention is that they are claiming that the right to be the sole source of "Python" software, servers, and services. We have reached out to them to try to reach some accommodation (they can be "Python backup services," for example) but they are not willing to take us seriously.
It still isn't clear to me whether your purpose here is inclusive (you don't want to lose the right to use "Python" as a trademark) or exclusive (you don't want this company to be able to use "Python" for its server products). At first I thought the former, but a close reading of your post suggests it may be the latter. Please clarify.
If your purpose is exclusive, then I can't support you. There is an open source Common Lisp implementation, originally developed at CMU in the mid-1980s, whose compiler is called Python. It is still in use. I think a compiler and a language are close enough that you have no exclusive right to the name.
That's not the way trademarks work. Trademarks cover one or more industries, so your snake is completely safe. In fact, if you wanted to make a car called the Python or a chair called the Python or just about anything else called the Python, you would be welcome to it (assuming somebody else hadn't trademarked that). Even in software, you could incorporate the word Python as long as it didn't cause confusion (for instance, making the game "Snake: a Young Python's Journey" would most likely be fine [note: IANAL]).
However, due to the "fight for it or lose it" nature, if this company was given the trademark, they would have no choice but to threaten legal action against the PSF and everybody who produces something with Python in the name: a very large group of people, products and companies.
>if this company was given the trademark, they would have no choice but to threaten legal action against the PSF //
I'm afraid that, at least in UK and USA, you're wrong in your assumption of "fight for it or lose it".
You have to pay your registration fees and use the trademark for trade. You can allow unpaid use, you can even ignore de minimis use without any notification.
Even if it were "fight it or lose it" then it would only be for use of their mark to indicate the origin of goods or services that they could object to. If it's clear the goods don't originate with the owners of Python RTM then there is no trademark infringement (this doesn't quite apply to "famous" marks however that get extra protection).
"Fight it or lose it" sort of applies to genericisation but there's absolutely no chance that python is going to become a generic term in the software field for something other than python-the-language for the foreseeable future.
On a general issue I don't think it's right for PSF to attempt to gain a registered mark for python in the context of computing. Nor indeed should any sane TM office grant them a word mark as python is not distinct enough to indicate that goods or services originate with PSF. Indeed in terms of CTM it appears a registration is held by an individual that covers the software class already.
Good point! I guess it would be fine as long as the UK company does not gain exclusive rights to Python, I don't think that would be possible with EU law though, I'm pretty sure you can't get a trademark for the name of an animal.
Early in the article it says: "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.".
And later it says, where the Python foundation is soliciting comments: "your view that another company using term Python to refer to services, software, and servers would be confusing".
I for one hope the Python foundation doesn't get an exclusive trademark for all "software, services, servers" in the E.U. Outside of software "Python" is a well-known generic name for an animal, I don't think the EU should be protecting such generic names.
But on the other hand it would also suck if this U.K. company gained exclusive use over the trademark.