> but I absolutely do not want to go the legal threat route and that's not what this issue was; this issue is me requesting you respect the elementary name and don't use it for something that is not produced by elementary. Because as we've seen repeatedly in the past, it causes real user confusion about the source and endorsement of software.
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> Is federal registration of my mark required?
> No. In the United States, parties are not required to register their marks to obtain protectable rights. You can establish "common law" rights in a mark based solely on use of the mark in commerce, without a registration.
I have read that the US is also "first use" and not "first to file", eliminating a race to registration.
If someone wishes to address the issue on strictly legal grounds, such as by contending there is no trademark protection, then there is no choice but to bring in lawyers... All further discussion after that is just nonsense, such as the discussion of how Ubuntu uses their trademark — there's no point in trying to develop your own internal legal theory by reasoning with Ubuntu as a proxy.