14 DAY TRIAL // Canonical has sent a letter to the owner of a website that criticizes Ubuntu, asking him to take down the logo and to change the name of the domain.
The website in question is called fixubuntu.com and contains advice on how to stop the online services provided by Canonical in Ubuntu Dash. It's been up for quite some time, but until now Canonical seems to have ignored it.
This situation changed after the company sent an official letter to Micah F. Lee, the owner of fixubuntu.com, in which he's asked to take down the Ubuntu logo and to change the domain name.
“It has been brought to our attention that your website: https://fixubuntu.com/ is using Canonical’s trademarks including Ubuntu logo on your website and Ubuntu word in your domain name.”
“To keep the balance between the integrity of our trademarks and the ability to use and promote Ubuntu, we’ve tried to define a reasonable Intellectual Property Policy. As you can see from our policy, to use the Ubuntu trademarks and Ubuntu word in a domain name would require approval from Canonical.”
“Unfortunately, in this instance we cannot give you permission to use Ubuntu trademarks on your website and in your domain name as they may lead to confusion or the misunderstanding that your website is associated with Canonical or Ubuntu,” reads the official letter.
The owner of the website lives in the United States and he replied, in a letter of his own and with the help of a lawyer, that the First Amendment of the Constitution protects his right to manage trademark items in non-commercial websites that criticize corporations and products.
This being said, the owner has removed the logo from his website and has posted a disclaimer saying he's not affiliated in any way to Canonical.
Ubuntu representatives have yet to answer to his letter.