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Comment by Animats | Hacker News Reader

This is why you want to get your trademarks and domains set up early.

    arduino.cc - the original
    arduinosrl.it - the rogue manufacturer. Uses same logo.
    arduino.net - Poser porn
    arduino.com - T-shirt store

The US trademark is owned by "ARDUINO, LLC LIMITED LIABILITY COMPANY MASSACHUSETTS", whoever they are.

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In all fairness, the Arduino name is itself originally take from the name of a bar in Italy where the project founders used to hang out. Think about how that bar owner would feel about this...

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arduino#History

Trademarks are limited to the area of product they apply to. The purpose of trademarks is "identify and distinguish the goods/services of one seller or provider from those of others, and to indicate the source of the goods/services." No one is going to be surprised that those 2 arduinos aren't the same entity, or walk into the bar and wonder why little computers aren't on the menu, so trademark law completely ignores this, and it's extremely common so the bar owner shouldn't feel bad at all.

You can change your name to Barak Obama, and you'll get internet commenters saying things that start with "in all fairness...", but the white house won't be returning your calls.

Arduino SRL also has the most official sounding and looking arduino.org domain/website.

True, but the website is shit, just like the arduinosrl.it website. You can definitely tell the difference. Feels like a dodgy website.

I think a break away from that name will do them good. It will take some time but it's for the best.

Arduino LLC is the "good guys" (EDIT: in Arduino LLC vs SRL)

Well, at least if you don't go into the relationship between Arduino and Wiring https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wiring_(development_platform) created by Banzi's doctoral student http://wiki.wiring.co/images/7/76/Wiring_thesis.pdf .

People keep bringing this up as if there is a dispute between them, but I can't find it.

Not on the wiki:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wiring_%28development_platform%...

Not on the creators website:

http://barraganstudio.com/b/?p=185

The Wiring website even links Arduino as a sister project:

http://wiring.org.co/

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