Controversy About Our Web 2.0 Service Mark
Brady Forrest,
May 26, 2006
O'Reilly has long been heralded as a leading advocate of the open source ethos. But that reputation is under seige today. In a story that began here and spead into Tim O'Reilly's blog here (where you can find my own response) it was revealed that O'Reilly is trying to enforce ownership of 'Web 2.0' as a service mark (at least for conferences). While I held out hope that it was all a mistake, their eventual admission has brought down the wrath of the blogosphere. And rightly so. As Mark Oehlert writes, "The sense of betrayal from this community is palpable." And, as George Siemens comments, "Trademarking the (Web 2.0) concept seems a bit like using extra salt to achieve an effective sodium-free diet."
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