Z:gnu-www-ja-free-software-for-freedom--8e72c9-The advocates of =26ldquo;open s/en

The advocates of &ldquo;open source software&rdquo; tried to make it a trademark, saying this would enable them to prevent misuse. This initiative was later dropped, the term being too descriptive to qualify as a trademark; thus, the legal status of &ldquo;open source&rdquo; is the same as that of &ldquo;free software&rdquo;: there is no legal constraint on using it. I have heard reports of a number of companies' calling software packages &ldquo;open source&rdquo; even though they did not fit the official definition; I have observed some instances myself.