Copyright issues creating my own Mint-based live DVD

Questions about other topics - please check if your question fits better in another category before posting here
Forum rules
Before you post read how to get help. Topics in this forum are automatically closed 6 months after creation.
Locked
evilmrb
Level 1
Level 1
Posts: 31
Joined: Sat Jan 03, 2009 12:53 pm

Copyright issues creating my own Mint-based live DVD

Post by evilmrb »

Hi,

For the last few weeks I have been working on a custom version of Linux Mint 17.1 32-bit XFCE edition. I intended the DVD to be aimed at writers of all types and full of free programs to help with writing. I have pretty much finished it and it is working well. Then, by accident, I found a link saying that any customised version of Mint that is to be given away or sold must have all the Mint artwork stripped out because it is copyrighted. To say I was gutted would be a huge understatement. I do want to be able to give my creation away but I don't want to infringe copyright, of course.

Is there a definitive list of all the images that would need replacing? Has anyone out there done this successfully?

I am NOT a technical Linux user at all; I used Systemback to create a new ISO. If there is no easy way to get around this issue I may have to start again from scratch using one of the Ubuntu variants instead. Nightmare!

Mark B
Last edited by LockBot on Wed Dec 28, 2022 7:16 am, edited 1 time in total.
Reason: Topic automatically closed 6 months after creation. New replies are no longer allowed.
User avatar
xenopeek
Level 25
Level 25
Posts: 29507
Joined: Wed Jul 06, 2011 3:58 am

Re: Copyright issues creating my own Mint-based live DVD

Post by xenopeek »

Whether you use Linux Mint, an official Ubuntu derivative, or any other distro I think you'll face the same issue with each. You can't distribute your original creation using someone else's name and branding. What I say below for Linux Mint likely goes for other distros in the same way.

The Linux Mint name is trademarked and in use by us since 2006. The logo and other branded artwork (themes etc.) are copyrighted. What's the big deal you might ask. The big deal is the Linux Mint developers, testing team, and community work hard on each release to ensure a high level of quality. The teams have over the years built up a reputation for this and have a fine-grained QA process for each release. In short, you can't call something Linux Mint, and thus not use its branding, unless its gone through Linux Mint's QA process. Doing so would lead users to expect a level of quality and testing that your original creation likely doesn't meet, with disappointment for those users and for the Linux Mint teams (who will be held accountable, despite having absolutely nothing to do with your distribution).

If you want to make a customized distribution, we wish you the best with your new distro and you can continue to use Linux Mint developed technology. But you'll have to come up with your own name, logo, artwork, and other branding and will have to replace all those on your customized ISO. You can't misrepresent your distro as being Linux Mint. You'll have to build your own community and provide support for the users of your distro and can't use the Linux Mint support channels for that.

Perhaps it sounds draconian, but say you have built a reputation as being a quality author—would you want somebody else to publish unedited works under your name and you having to deal with all the complaints from your readers?

It's not a trivial to build your own distro, but here are some pointers from two years back to get started on what you need to remove/replace:
Packages like mint-artwork-*, grub2-theme-mint, mint-backgrounds-* and mint-mdm-themes are packages that include artwork and other material with Mint branding, and these kind of packages must not be included if you create a Mint based distro. If you take one of the Mint ISOs as a base (not possible in your case I think, but generally) you will also have to edit some files in /etc to remove the Mint name (like issue, issue.net, lsb-release and motd).
Regardless of all that, we're pleased that you've chosen Linux Mint as a base to build upon and we wish you the best to make your distro aimed at writers a success!
Image
evilmrb
Level 1
Level 1
Posts: 31
Joined: Sat Jan 03, 2009 12:53 pm

Re: Copyright issues creating my own Mint-based live DVD

Post by evilmrb »

Hi xenopeek,

Thanks for the detailed explanation. I do understand why things are like that and I will abide by that. I am really disappointed that after all the work I have done I can't take it any further than to keep it solely for my own use. You are right about other derivatives too. Someone sent me a copy of the Ubuntu Intellectual Property Policy and it says that all artwork must be removed, you can't use the *buntu name with a licence and you must recompile all software from source. I am nowhere near knowledgeable enough about Linux to consider building an entire distro from source. So that's the end of the line for me. Thanks for putting me straight.

Mark B
richyrich

Re: Copyright issues creating my own Mint-based live DVD

Post by richyrich »

You may want to take a look at this . .

http://www.os-builder.com/
evilmrb
Level 1
Level 1
Posts: 31
Joined: Sat Jan 03, 2009 12:53 pm

Re: Copyright issues creating my own Mint-based live DVD

Post by evilmrb »

Thank you, I will.
User avatar
Pjotr
Level 23
Level 23
Posts: 19886
Joined: Mon Mar 07, 2011 10:18 am
Location: The Netherlands (Holland) 🇳🇱
Contact:

Re: Copyright issues creating my own Mint-based live DVD

Post by Pjotr »

richyrich wrote:You may want to take a look at this . .

http://www.os-builder.com/
That looked very interesting to me at first.

But apparently the lead developer is the same guy that produced the horrible Ultamatix and Ultimate Edition:
https://sites.google.com/site/easylinux ... -Ultamatix
(item 6.1, left column)

Therefore I wouldn't trust the code quality at all....

However, this free operating system build service can be trusted to produce good code:
https://susestudio.com/

The only disadvantage is, you have to use openSUSE as base.... Note that you can also select the commercial SUSE as base, but then you don't get updates (unless you buy a license).
Tip: 10 things to do after installing Linux Mint 21.3 Virginia
Keep your Linux Mint healthy: Avoid these 10 fatal mistakes
Twitter: twitter.com/easylinuxtips
All in all, horse sense simply makes sense.
evilmrb
Level 1
Level 1
Posts: 31
Joined: Sat Jan 03, 2009 12:53 pm

Re: Copyright issues creating my own Mint-based live DVD

Post by evilmrb »

Pjotr,

I was aware of susestudio already. In fact, I have an account on there. Using that would present me with 2 problems, I think: 1) I don't know enough about Linux to know what packages I need 2) some of the software I want to install is only available as deb packages and Suse is rpm based, isn't it?

Thanks for the suggestion though.


Mr B
User avatar
Pierre
Level 21
Level 21
Posts: 13192
Joined: Fri Sep 05, 2008 5:33 am
Location: Perth, AU.

Re: Copyright issues creating my own Mint-based live DVD

Post by Pierre »

"Therefore I wouldn't trust the code quality at all...".
wouldn't agree on that one:

TheeMann AKA Gary Cody does quite a lot of work on his Ultimate Edition O/Ss.
- he is an accomplished coder, who re-writes a lot of his work, improving it each time.

the os-builder works quite well in remastering a Ubuntu release into his UE versions.
- but you do need a fairly decent PC, in order to create the new O/S.

and have actually used that Ultamatix program, on a LinuxMint O/S - without any issues.
Image
Please edit your original post title to include [SOLVED] - when your problem is solved!
and DO LOOK at those Unanswered Topics - - you may be able to answer some!.
User avatar
Pjotr
Level 23
Level 23
Posts: 19886
Joined: Mon Mar 07, 2011 10:18 am
Location: The Netherlands (Holland) 🇳🇱
Contact:

Re: Copyright issues creating my own Mint-based live DVD

Post by Pjotr »

Pierre wrote:and have actually used that Ultamatix program, on a LinuxMint O/S - without any issues.
Then I suppose you were lucky.... I think you'll agree with me on this:
Ultamatix installs all kinds of unstable versions of applications (nightly builds). Besides, it makes use of forced permits: --assume-yes and --force-yes are very dangerous. The developer says that those are being used because "he doesn't want to bother the users with all kinds of questions". It takes only one wrong dependency, buggy application or another hitch, and your system may be damaged beyond repair....

Somebody who produces an installation script that does such things, in my opinion doesn't rank very high as quality coder... :shock:

@evilmrb: openSUSE uses .rpm, indeed. But don't let it frighten you: it's much the same as .deb.

With SUSE Studio you can easily create and even test your own operating system in the cloud; it's as simple as picking a base (e.g. openSUSE 13.2), a desktop environment (e.g. lightweight Xfce) and then adding some stuff of your own. With just a few mouseclicks. :)
Last edited by Pjotr on Thu May 07, 2015 10:17 am, edited 1 time in total.
Tip: 10 things to do after installing Linux Mint 21.3 Virginia
Keep your Linux Mint healthy: Avoid these 10 fatal mistakes
Twitter: twitter.com/easylinuxtips
All in all, horse sense simply makes sense.
evilmrb
Level 1
Level 1
Posts: 31
Joined: Sat Jan 03, 2009 12:53 pm

Re: Copyright issues creating my own Mint-based live DVD

Post by evilmrb »

@evilmrb: openSUSE uses .rpm, indeed. But don't let it frighten you: it's much the same as .deb.
That bit doesn't bother me. My first introduction to Linux was Suse 6.x. It's the fact that some of the writing software I wanted to include is only available as .deb packages.
User avatar
Pjotr
Level 23
Level 23
Posts: 19886
Joined: Mon Mar 07, 2011 10:18 am
Location: The Netherlands (Holland) 🇳🇱
Contact:

Re: Copyright issues creating my own Mint-based live DVD

Post by Pjotr »

evilmrb wrote:It's the fact that some of the writing software I wanted to include is only available as .deb packages.
That's indeed a problem....

You might try the terminal application "alien" to convert a .deb package into a .rpm package. But sometimes that doesn't work, and it's of course a not so clean solution...
Tip: 10 things to do after installing Linux Mint 21.3 Virginia
Keep your Linux Mint healthy: Avoid these 10 fatal mistakes
Twitter: twitter.com/easylinuxtips
All in all, horse sense simply makes sense.
Locked

Return to “Other topics”