the Python Foundation

[Steve Holden, Chairman, PSF]

Mark Tarver wrote:
>>From the website
> 
> The Python Software Foundation (PSF) is a 501(c)(3) non-profit
> corporation that
> holds the intellectual property rights behind the Python programming
> language. We manage the open source licensing for Python version 2.1
> and later and own and protect the trademarks associated with Python.
> 
> Could somebody explain 'what holding the intellectual property rights'
> means in this context and in what sense PSF manages the licensing and
> protects the trademarks associated with Python?   This is for my
> education.
> 
The PSF requires that contributors sign an agreement licensing their
code to us, and allowing us to distribute it under the license of our
choosing (this does not in any way preclude the contributor licensing
the same code to any other party under different terms).

In this way people who use Python can be relatively sure that the code
is untrammeled by claims of copyright or patent by anyone other than the
PSF, and can therefore use it without fear of losing their rights to do
so because of legal action by third parties.

We have also registered the trademark "Python" for use in reference to
computer programming languages, thereby ensuring that we can take action
should some ill-advised individual or organization decide to produce
another language with "Python" in its name which we did not feel
conformed sufficiently strictly to the language definition, for instance.

The PSF has an established policy with regard to the use of its
trademarks, which you can read at

  http://www.python.org/psf/trademarks/

regards
 Steve
-- 
Steve Holden        Chairman, Python Software Foundation
See PyCon Talks from Atlanta 2010  http://pycon.blip.tv/
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