Aren't you all getting off topic
I think it is a copyright infringement, based on my experiences in this area. However, the main issue is whether or not HRM would play nice and change the logo just with an email. If not, then ubuntu would have to hire lawyers to bring an international law suit against HRM, which would be costly even if they win the case.
The other issue is that both companies are in different trademark 'classes,' ie., they don't provide the same types of services, so it might be hard to argue brand confusion in the lawsuit. This Ubuntu text (not logo) is registered in 3 classes (9, 41, 42) according to the USPTO since
2006-10-03:
http://tarr.uspto.gov/servlet/tarr?r...entry=76616408
Check out all the other Ubuntu's registered (19) in different classes just in the US.
[update] direct links don't work, so go here, click New User Form Search (Basic), then type ubuntu:
http://tess2.uspto.gov/bin/gate.exe?...glish&p_d=trmk
Also, I don't see the logo officially registered (unless it's under a different name). This just means they'd have a bit less legal protection with the logo if they take the case to court.
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Side note: I designed a logo for a non-profit company back in 2004, but it never got used. The weird thing is that one of the variations looked a lot like the current Ubuntu logo, so when I saw it later, it was really freaky to me. This logo of mine never saw the light of day (the went with something totally different), but it's weird. Even the colors I chose (for a multi-cultrual international institution) were very similar.
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