As Groupon's services grow and the online coupon vendor grasps at new trademarks, one of its recent business filings aimed to secure the brand "Gnome" for a new app it is prepping for clients.
But the name request didn't go over so well with the Gnome Foundation, an organization that has held its name for 17 years. So the foundation, which develops a cross-platform desktop environment based on the Linux kernel and is composed of both volunteer and paid developers, got ready to fight the name use.
The Gnome Foundation claims it secured "Gnome" by trademarks back in 2006. It had until December to officially contest Groupon's trademark application for the name Gnome, but before it filed any paperwork, Groupon backed off.
"Groupon have just confirmed with the Gnome Foundation that they are going to abandon all of their 28 pending trademark applications and will proceed with a name change for their product," states the Gnome Foundation. "We could not have done this without your help!"
The Gnome Foundation has been rallying its community for vocal and financial support to fend off Groupon. But Groupon's apparent respect for the Gnome Foundation's trademark, and possibly the lack of a legitimate claim on the name, helped the open-source Gnome Project avoid being mired by financial and legal muck.
Back in May, Groupon released an app for merchants that bears the name "Gnome." Groupon's Gnome app essentially converts tablets into point-of-sale systems, boasting the ability to accept Groupon coupons via Bluetooth and integrate into accounting software such as Quickbooks.
A bit more than an app, Groupon's Gnome seeks to serve as an all-in-one operating system for merchants. The app facilitates transactions of all major payment methods, includes pre-loaded menus, pre-loaded inventory lists and customer relationship management tools to support merchant marketing campaigns.
"When it's complete, Gnome will serve as an operating system for merchants to run their entire operation and enable them to create real-time promotions that bring customers into their business when they need them the most," said Groupon CEO Erick Lefkofsky when the app was unveiled.
