# Rust Trademark: Argle-bargle or Foofaraw?

- Show: [Oxide and Friends](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/oxide-and-friends)
- Published: 2023-04-18
- Length: 1h 22m
- Episode: 11
- Page: https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/oxide-and-friends/2023-04-18-rust-trademark-argle-bargle-or-foofaraw
- Listen: https://share.transistor.fm/s/dbbaa33e

## Summary

Ashley Williams, former Executive Director of the Rust Foundation, along with Adam Jacob and Steve Klabnik, discuss the controversy surrounding the Rust Foundation's proposed trademark policy. They analyze how the policy's aggressive enforcement, driven by a fear of losing trademark validity, alienated the community and exposed deeper fractures in governance and trust. The group explores the role of open source foundations, the influence of corporate interests, and the necessity of aligning policy with the actual needs of the Rust constituency.

## Chapters

- [0:00](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/oxide-and-friends/2023-04-18-rust-trademark-argle-bargle-or-foofaraw#t=0) Introduction and Pop Culture References
- [2:59](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/oxide-and-friends/2023-04-18-rust-trademark-argle-bargle-or-foofaraw#t=179) History of Trademark Issues in Open Source
- [6:45](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/oxide-and-friends/2023-04-18-rust-trademark-argle-bargle-or-foofaraw#t=405) The Rust Foundation's New Trademark Policy
- [14:17](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/oxide-and-friends/2023-04-18-rust-trademark-argle-bargle-or-foofaraw#t=857) Governance, Power, and Constituency
- [36:39](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/oxide-and-friends/2023-04-18-rust-trademark-argle-bargle-or-foofaraw#t=2199) The Linux Foundation and Corporate Influence
- [49:08](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/oxide-and-friends/2023-04-18-rust-trademark-argle-bargle-or-foofaraw#t=2948) The Role and Necessity of Foundations
- [55:26](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/oxide-and-friends/2023-04-18-rust-trademark-argle-bargle-or-foofaraw#t=3326) Community Trust and Future Directions

## Topics

- [Intellectual property](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/topic/intellectual-property)
- [Leadership, teams & culture](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/topic/leadership-and-culture)
- [Policy, trade & tariffs](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/topic/policy-trade-and-tariffs)

## Most relevant to

established companies

## Mentioned

- Rust Foundation (company)
- Linux Foundation (company)
- Pamela Chestek (other)
- Chef (product)
- Node.js (product)
- Java (product)
- ZFS (product)
- Ice Weasel (product)
- The Register (other)
- Succession (other)
- The Wire (other)
- The Simpsons (other)
- Jomboy (other)
- Oracle (company)
- CNCF (company)
- Apache Foundation (company)
- Debian (other)
- Crates.io (product)
- Cargo (product)

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- [Ep. 43 - Collaboration in Open Source](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/open-hardware-manufacturing-podcast/2025-08-28-ep-43-collaboration-in-open-source) (Open Hardware Manufacturing Podcast)
- [Tesla, Checklists and Bullies - Emerging External Eupsychics](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/the-amp-hour/2014-06-18-tesla-checklists-and-bullies-emerging-external-eupsychics) (The Amp Hour)
- [Can't We All Just Get Arduino? - Tardiloquent Trademark Tirade](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/the-amp-hour/2015-03-26-cant-we-all-just-get-arduino-tardiloquent-trademark-tirade) (The Amp Hour)
- [Trunk-based development](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/the-pragmatic-embedded-podcast/2025-02-19-trunk-based-development) (The Pragmatic Embedded Podcast)

## Citing this page

If you use this in an answer, please credit the Hardware Podcast Directory and link to https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/oxide-and-friends/2023-04-18-rust-trademark-argle-bargle-or-foofaraw. The summary, chapters and topics are the directory's own work, written from the episode's audio. The episode itself, its title and its audio belong to Oxide and Friends.