so basically the guys who created bitcoin dropped the ball in respect to trademarking the name.
so how did bittorrent and other opensource programmers do this?
maybe we can just avoid all this nonsense - change the name - and do it right this time.
They didn't really drop the ball there as they have the software covered as much as it needs to be. It is the concept that is not protected.
The concern here is not protecting the software. Anyone can modify under the same license and do what the hell they want with it. They however would have a hard time calling it Bitcoin. What could be potentially at issue is the use of the currency and the term itself when referencing such currency and not the software.
Its a concept attack if you will, which if one can convince a judge they were first to implement such concept could cause all kinds of troublesome things to happen to the front ends of commerce that need to operate in an area that is accessable by US regulation.
we're talking about the name. not the concept. that's what the trademark is. anyone can use the software and do the same damn thing bitcoin does. taking the name seems to be the threat here.