<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD HTML 4.01 Transitional//EN"><html><head><meta content="text/html;charset=UTF-8" http-equiv="Content-Type"></head><body ><div style='font-size:10pt;font-family:Verdana,Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;'>Hi Suchith,<br>The only real way to limit the use of the word Open would be to register it as a trademark. To the best of my knowledge, none of the big Open Source initiatives have done this which would suggest it's not a good idea for some reason. Apparently someone tried to trademark "Open Source Hardware" but was rejected: https://opensource.com/law/13/5/os-hardware-trademark-rejected<br><br>The other option, in the UK at least, is if an advertisement claimed to be Open but the thing wasn't, you could always raise a complaint with the Advertising Standard Agency, but I believe they're fairly toothless....<br><br>As to "business ethics" - that's a clearcut oxymoron if ever I've seen one.<br><br>Cheers,<br>Jonathan<br><br><div class="zmail_extra"><div id="1"><br>---- On Sat, 25 Mar 2017 09:17:40 +0000 <b>Suchith Anand<Suchith.Anand@nottingham.ac.uk></b> wrote ---- <br></div><blockquote style="border-left: 1px solid #0000FF; padding-left: 6px; margin:0 0 0 5px"><div>My query was if the term Open can be used for marketing any properitery softwares and platforms and to know if there are any guidelines on this? This definition Ravi Kumar send is helpful to help me understand one aspect of this . Thanks Ravi Kumar.<br><br>Best wishes,<br><br>Suchith<br>________________________________________<br>From: Jody Garnett <<a subj="" mailid="jody.garnett%40gmail.com" rel="noreferrer" href="mailto:jody.garnett@gmail.com" target="_blank">jody.garnett@gmail.com</a>><br>Sent: 25 March 2017 7:21 AM<br>To: Ravi Kumar; Anand Suchith<br>Cc: <a subj="" mailid="discuss%40lists.osgeo.org" rel="noreferrer" href="mailto:discuss@lists.osgeo.org" target="_blank">discuss@lists.osgeo.org</a>; <a subj="" mailid="geoforall%40lists.osgeo.org" rel="noreferrer" href="mailto:geoforall@lists.osgeo.org" target="_blank">geoforall@lists.osgeo.org</a><br>Subject: Re: [OSGeo-Discuss] Is it possible for properitery GIS vendor to market thier properitery product as Open ?<br><br>And here is the biz model definition, I would be interested if the original poster can clarify in which context the word was used :)<br>On Fri, Mar 24, 2017 at 9:55 PM Ravi Kumar <<a subj="" mailid="manarajahmundry2015%40gmail.com" rel="noreferrer" href="mailto:manarajahmundry2015@gmail.com" target="_blank">manarajahmundry2015@gmail.com</a><mailto:<a subj="" mailid="manarajahmundry2015%40gmail.com" rel="noreferrer" href="mailto:manarajahmundry2015@gmail.com" target="_blank">manarajahmundry2015@gmail.com</a>>> wrote:<br>This is a good thread, and let us discuss to derive a 'Note', for those facing 'Questions', evangelising Free and Open GIS.<br><br>I suggest this <a rel="noreferrer" href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Open_platform" target="_blank">https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Open_platform</a> for many who wish to know.<br>May be we can have a page on, 'OSGeo Wiki' on this topic.<br>Cheers<br>Ravi Kumar<br><br><br>On Thu, Mar 23, 2017 at 1:45 AM, Suchith Anand <<a subj="" mailid="Suchith.Anand%40nottingham.ac.uk" rel="noreferrer" href="mailto:Suchith.Anand@nottingham.ac.uk" target="_blank">Suchith.Anand@nottingham.ac.uk</a><mailto:<a subj="" mailid="Suchith.Anand%40nottingham.ac.uk" rel="noreferrer" href="mailto:Suchith.Anand@nottingham.ac.uk" target="_blank">Suchith.Anand@nottingham.ac.uk</a>>> wrote:<br><br>Hi all,<br><br><br>I have a query. If a properitery GIS vendor starts marketing thier properitery products as Open platform and software then what rights do the organisations and customers have who are mislead buying the properitery software thinking it is open have ? The definision of Proprietary software [1] is very clearly defined, so how can it be possible for any properitery GIS vendor to market their software knowingly as open platform if it is properitery?<br><br><br>This also greatly affects the business and revenues of true open source software companies . Who is responsible for any misleading marketing that results in losses to both customers who are mislead to buy the properitery software thinking it is open and also to other companies who do true open source business who lose out on the business opportunities? Is it right business ethics to do this?<br><br><br>Best wishes,<br><br>Suchith<br><br><br>[1] <a rel="noreferrer" href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Proprietary_software" target="_blank">https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Proprietary_software</a><br><br><br><br>This message and any attachment are intended solely for the addressee<br>and may contain confidential information. If you have received this<br>message in error, please send it back to me, and immediately delete it.<br><br>Please do not use, copy or disclose the information contained in this<br>message or in any attachment. Any views or opinions expressed by the<br>author of this email do not necessarily reflect the views of the<br>University of Nottingham.<br><br>This message has been checked for viruses but the contents of an<br>attachment may still contain software viruses which could damage your<br>computer system, you are advised to perform your own checks. 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