Submitted by Dries (not verified) on Thu, 09/18/2008 - 07:16.
Personally, I do think certification needs to happen. I think it is in the Drupal project's best interest if multiple companies can offer certification, and if they can compete on it.
A year ago there were still many questions about how to deal with trademarks and people were really nervous about Drupal certification. Since then, we learned a lot, and along with the Drupal Association and Software Freedom Law Center, we spent a lot of effort working on a public Drupal trademark policy that can act as a guideline for how the name 'Drupal' is used. I just posted a draft at http://groups.drupal.org/node/15023 -- I'd love to get your feedback.
Based on that policy, everyone would be allowed to offer Drupal certification, as long as you clearly separate your trademark from the Drupal trademark. For example, you can call your certification program "Gloscon Drupal Certification" but not "Drupal certification". By adding your mark, one can differentiate you from competing solutions. Using the name 'Drupal' in your company name is not allowed because it would complicate the above.
I think it is really important to keep the playing ground fair and open; that is also why I called my companies "Acquia" and "Mollom", instead of "Drupal ABC", and why I've been working hard on creating a Drupal trademark policy.
Personally, I do think certification needs to happen. I think it is in the Drupal project's best interest if multiple companies can offer certification, and if they can compete on it.
A year ago there were still many questions about how to deal with trademarks and people were really nervous about Drupal certification. Since then, we learned a lot, and along with the Drupal Association and Software Freedom Law Center, we spent a lot of effort working on a public Drupal trademark policy that can act as a guideline for how the name 'Drupal' is used. I just posted a draft at http://groups.drupal.org/node/15023 -- I'd love to get your feedback.
Based on that policy, everyone would be allowed to offer Drupal certification, as long as you clearly separate your trademark from the Drupal trademark. For example, you can call your certification program "Gloscon Drupal Certification" but not "Drupal certification". By adding your mark, one can differentiate you from competing solutions. Using the name 'Drupal' in your company name is not allowed because it would complicate the above.
I think it is really important to keep the playing ground fair and open; that is also why I called my companies "Acquia" and "Mollom", instead of "Drupal ABC", and why I've been working hard on creating a Drupal trademark policy.