[Debian-med-packaging] Bug#915541: Removal of upstream "--will-cite" functionality has been reverted

[Felix Lechner]

Hi,

> On Mon, Aug 30, 2021 at 08:08:26AM +0200, Ole Tange wrote:
> >
> > If you want to remove the citation notice ...
> > nothing else gives you the right to change it.

Can we ship GNU Parallel with a small wrapper that removes the notice?
Being text-based, it would not modify the software at all. I am
thinking about something like:

$ echo 'NOTICE: Wanted output.' | perl -pe '{ s/^NOTICE:\s*(.*)/$1/ }'
Wanted output.

> Is the FSF aware that upstream had registered "GNU PARALLEL" as trademark, on
> his name?  (Though, it is listed as "abandoned", whatever this means. I guess
> it is not valid anymore.) Is upstream aware that "GNU" is a registered
> trademark?

A trademark does not have to be registered in order to be enforceable,
although it makes it easier. Many trademarks are not registered. The
USPTO application for "GNU Parallel" was filed on April 7, 2018 and
abandoned on February 4, 2019. I did not check Danish, EU or WIPO or
US state records.

I find it hard to believe the FSF would agree to the issuance. The
term "GNU" is their word mark (#f4125065) for goods and services in
the international categories 9 ("electronic apparatus and software")
and 16 ("documentation and manuals"). FSF may be able to exercise
additional pressure to prohibit "GNU Parallel" from using the word
"GNU".

Either way, the trademark threat in GNU Parallel's documentation is
explicit and refers to past legal cases: "This principle has even been
tested in court". [1] The author's aggressive stance, as evidenced by
a relatively recent trademark filing, should lead us to proceed with
extreme caution.

(I am one of Debian's trademark delegates, but have no trademark or
legal training. Please consult a competent person before relying on
anything in this message.)

Kind regards
Felix Lechner

[1] https://git.savannah.gnu.org/cgit/parallel.git/tree/doc/citation-notice-faq.txt