Recently, Red Hat sent a "cease-and-desist" letter to the DataPortability Group concerning the similarity of its logo to the Fedora Project's logo. This action was made known to several online technical news sites such as TechCrunch. See the article "Logo War: Red Hat Takes On DataPortability"

Here's my perspective on the controversy.

First of all, I am not a lawyer (IANAL). I am writing this as a person who is an unpaid volunteer with one group, Fedora Project, who is trying to understand the motivations of another group of individuals, DataPortability.

How do I go about doing this?

1. I read their charter.

2. I read the group's forums here and here .

3. I see their affiliation with Identity Commons (IDC).

4. I see that the Data Portability Group is in the process of organizing itself as an officially recognized working group within ID Commons.

My conclusion is that this is a well-intentioned group of men and women who just happened to pick a logo similar to the Fedora Project logo. No malice or intentional confusion was intended, and many in the group would be more than happy to adopt another logo. Some even volunteered to design a new one.

One individual decided to publicize the "cease-and-desist" letter from Red Hat. This resulted in the article on Tech Crunch. I understand that it is upsetting to get such a notice. I also understand that Red Hat must protect its logos and trademarks from infringement. All major companies must do the same thing.

I hope cooler heads prevail. I actually agree with the aims of the ID Commons and Data Portability Group.

I wish them all the best. I might even join.