Open Source Initiative Announcement

So here is the deal. Bruce, Ian and Tim left SPI, and now we know why. They have joined up with esr to form The Open Source Initiative which will focus on general issues surrounding Open Source Software, leaving SPI to remain focused on ensuring that Debian kicks. They are currently seeking folks to be on the board. I've attached the official press release from Bruce, if you'd like to read it, click below.

A NEW ORGANIZATION FOR OPEN SOURCE

Debian and the Open Source Initiative have both become big enough that they need their own organizations. Thus, the board of Software in the Public Interest decided to spin off a new organization for Open Source early last week. Three of the four SPI directors elected to move to the new organization, because they are no longer involved in Debian. This left Ian Jackson, who is the current Debian Project Leader, on the SPI board to appoint new directors from the ranks of the Debian developers.

The new organization is called "The Open Source Initiative", and its directors currently are:

• Eric Raymond: Open Source co-founder. Author of "The Cathedral and the Bazaar" and other seminal works on free software. A leading strategist in the free software community.

  Ian Murdock: Debian founder. Founding director of Software in the Public Interest. Computer science researcher at U. of Arizona.

  Bruce Perens: Open Source co-founder. Founding director of Software in the Public Interest. Was Debian project leader for 2.5 years. Principal author of the Open Source Definition.

  Tim Sailer: Founding director of Software in the Public Interest. He did all of the actual paperwork of finding SPI's corporation counsel and accountant, incorporating the organization, and taking it through the IRS 501(c)3 tax-exempt process.

We are currently discussing who else to recruit onto this board from the ranks of free software leaders, in order to assure that we continue to represent the wishes of the Open Source community. Several people have already been approached.

The Open Source trademark attribution will now change to:

"Open Source is a Certification Mark of The Open Source Initiative".

Our previous trademark bulletin suggested that you apply the "(R)" symbol to the Open Source mark. It turns out we were in error, and the "TM" symbol should be applied until the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office finishes processing our application. This often takes two years to finish.