Mozilla Corporation software rebranded in Debian

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"Iceweasel" redirects here. For the GNU IceWeasel browser, see GNU IceWeasel.

In 2006, a naming issue evolved when Mike Connor, representing the Mozilla Corporation, enforced their trademarks to deny the use of the name "Firefox" to the Debian Project. The Debian Project refused Mozilla's terms and rebranded the Mozilla programs: Firefox to Iceweasel, Thunderbird to Icedove and SeaMonkey to Iceape. These changes are implemented in the current release version of Debian (Etch). In July 2007, Iceowl, a rebranded version of Mozilla Sunbird, was added to the 'unstable' branch of Debian.[1]

Contents

[edit] History

[edit] Origins of the issue and of the Iceweasel name

Mozilla Corporation enforces trademarks and claims the right to deny the use of the name "Firefox" and other trademarks to unofficial builds.[2] Unless distributions use the binaries supplied by Mozilla or else have special permission, they must compile the Firefox source with an option enabled which gives Firefox the codename of the release version of Firefox on which it is based, and which does not use the official logo or other artwork.[2]

The Debian Free Software Guidelines are used by the Debian project to determine whether a software license is a free software license, which in turn is used to determine whether a piece of software can be included in Debian. As the trademarked logo does not meet these requirements, it could not be used by software which was to be included in the Debian project.

This effect of the Mozilla trademark policy led to a long debate within the Debian Project in 2004 and 2005. During this debate, the name “Iceweasel” was coined to refer to rebranded versions of Firefox. The first known use of the name in this context is by Nathanael Nerode[3], in reply to Eric Dorland's suggestion of “Icerabbit”.[4] It was intended as a parody of “Firefox”.[5] “Iceweasel” was subsequently used as the example name for a rebranded Firefox in the Mozilla Trademark Policy[2], and became the most commonly used name for a hypothetical rebranded version of Firefox. By 2005-01-01, rebranding was being referred to as the “Iceweasel route”.[6]

The term “ice weasel” appeared earlier in a line fictionally attributed by Matt Groening to Friedrich Nietzsche: “Love is a snowmobile racing across the tundra and then suddenly it flips over, pinning you underneath. At night, the ice weasels come.”[7]

Debian was initially given permission to use the trademarks, and adopted the Firefox name.[8] However, because the artwork in Firefox has a proprietary copyright license which is not compatible with the Debian Free Software Guidelines, the substituted logo had to remain.[9]

[edit] Gnuzilla IceWeasel release

Main article: GNU IceWeasel

In August 2005,[10] the Gnuzilla project adopted the IceWeasel name for a browser based on Firefox[10] using free artwork.

The first Gnuzilla IceWeasel release was based on Firefox 1.5.0.4.[11]

[edit] Trademark agreement revocation

In February 2006, Mike Connor, representing the Mozilla Corporation, wrote to Debian and informed them that Mozilla did not consider the way in which Debian was using the Firefox name to be acceptable.[12] Connor confirmed that the Mozilla Corporation was revoking the previous agreement with Debian which allowed them to use the Firefox name. Further messages from Mike Connor clarified Mozilla's current policies: "Yes,if you are shipping a browser called Firefox, we should be signing off on every deviation from what we ship."; and "If you are going to use the Firefox name, you must also use the rest of the branding."

As Debian could not use the logo because its license did not conform to the Debian Free Software Guidelines, it could thus not use the Firefox name under Mozilla's revised guidelines. Debian freezes their releases on a long term basis and later patches software in the frozen stable releases patches for security issues. Under the revised guidelines, they would be required to have the Mozilla Corporation approve security patches.

The "Iceweasel" name was revived in the Debian community as a possible name to give the rebranded version of Firefox. The Iceweasel used in Etch is not the GNU application of the same name but a rebranded Firefox created by Debian. The Debian maintainer has stated that he will "get in touch with them to see what we can do together".[13] Because exactly the same problems required that Debian rename Mozilla Thunderbird and SeaMonkey, the names Icedove and Iceape were coined as replacements.

[edit] Rebranding

According to packages.qa.debian.org, Iceweasel, Icedove and Iceape were first accepted into the Debian project's unstable repository on 2006-11-20, on 2006-10-14 and on 2006-12-01, respectively. Icedove migrated to Etch and Thunderbird was removed on 2006-11-11. Iceape migrated to Etch on 2007-01-11 (the old Mozilla suite having previously been removed on 2006-10-06). Iceweasel migrated (and Firefox removed) on 2007-01-18. Debian's first stable release to include Iceweasel, Icedove, and Iceape was Debian 4.0 (Etch), released 2007-04-08.

Soon after the renaming Debian also replaced Mozilla's unbranded logos with new logos designed to fit with the new names.

[edit] Resulting products

Iceweasel
Iceweasel on Debian Etch
Developer: Debian Project
OS: Linux, GNU and variants
Genre: web browser
License: MPL/GPL/LGPL tri-license

Debian's Iceweasel, Icedove, Iceowl and Iceape are respectively based on Mozilla's Firefox, Thunderbird, Sunbird and SeaMonkey.

The rebranded products still use some Internet-based services from Mozilla, including the Mozilla plugin finder service, and Mozilla add-ons and their update notifications. There has also been no change to how non-free components, such as Flash, are found or used.

[edit] Licensing

The rebranded programs are available under Mozilla's standard MPL/GPL/LGPL tri-license. Unlike Mozilla, the default icons are under the same tri-license.

[edit] See also

 Free software Portal

[edit] Notes

  1. ^ http://packages.qa.debian.org/i/iceowl.html
  2. ^ a b c Mozilla Trademark Policy.
  3. ^ Nathanael Nerode 27 Feb 2004 email to debian-legal.
  4. ^ Eric Dorland 27 Feb 2004 email to debian-devel.
  5. ^ Gnuzilla Homepage
  6. ^ Joel Aelwyn 01 Jan 2005 email to debian-legal.
  7. ^ Groening, Matt (1986). Love Is Hell. Pantheon Books. ISBN 0394744543. 
  8. ^ Gervase Markham 14 Jun 2005 email to debian-devel.
  9. ^ Gervase Markham 19 Jun 2005 email to debian-devel.
  10. ^ a b Gnuzilla/IceWeasel Project Application.
  11. ^ IceWeasel 1.5.0.4 Download location.
  12. ^ Debian bug report started by Mozilla and containing much information on the Iceweasel issue.
  13. ^ Facts about Debian and Mozilla® Firefox®.

[edit] External links

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Debian
Infrastructure Debian Manifesto · DCC Alliance · DebConf · Software in the Public Interest · Debian Free Software Guidelines · Debian Social Contract · Alioth
Software dpkg · APT · aptitude · debconf package · Debian-Installer · Debian Iceweasel · Alien · Jigdo · dash
Derivatives Debian GNU/Linux · Debian GNU/Hurd · Custom Debian Distribution · GNU variants
People Ian Murdock · Bruce Perens · List of Debian Project Leaders
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