A few weeks later, while chatting with the nice folks at Canonical (the company that originated and sponsors Ubuntu) about an unrelated matter, they mentioned that I might have taken liberties with the website. The issue boiled down to use of the Ubuntu trademark, and they pointed out that there are strict rules on who can and can't use the trademark. Put simply, community projects are usually fine (provided a few rules are followed), but commercial projects must apply for a trademark license.

It was a friendly discussion, and I don't think they meant to chastise me. But I found it alarming. My book and associated Web site are an entirely separate commercial endeavour from Canonical or the Ubuntu project at large. I'd made this clear via a disclaimer on each page of the website. However, I immediately removed all uses of the trademark graphic apart from those I'd got specific permission for (which is to say, the use of the logo on the front cover of the book itself). All other uses of the word "Ubuntu" seemed to me to be allowed under , an exception in trademark law for which we have to thank New Kids on the Block (yes, really). It allows a product to use a trademark term if it's descriptive and unavoidable. I have no other choice than to use the term Ubuntu in the title of my book and website. How else would people know what they're about otherwise?

Now in possession of a somewhat graphically barren Web site, I was reasonably sure I was safe, even if I had only consulted good-ol' Wikipedia instead of a lawyer.