CentOS Linux can only come from the CentOS Project

Monday, 26, March 2018 Karsten Wade announcement, distro No Comments

An open letter from the CentOS Board.

We didn’t think we would have to say this, but here it is:

A rebuild of CentOS Linux is NOT CentOS Linux.

We can’t tell you how good a particular rebuild is, but we can definitely tell you one thing:  if we didn’t build it, it is not CentOS Linux.

The CentOS Project trademark guidelines make it clear that no one has the project’s permission to use the “CentOS” mark for software that is not built and signed by the project.

https://www.centos.org/legal/trademarks/

Unless the binaries are from the CentOS Project, it is not CentOS Linux. It should not be called “CentOS”. Doing so causes confusion with everyone. The only official maintainer of any images is the CentOS Project.

Other groups are welcome to take the CentOS sources, rebuild them, and produce their own modified distribution, as long as they do not call it CentOS or otherwise act without our permission in using the CentOS name. Such distributions are not CentOS, and they should have their own name.

Better yet, we welcome anyone to participate in the CentOS Project and to help us with CentOS Linux. To build something into CentOS Linux you need to be an active part of the community, such as these folks:

If you want your work with open source software to be included via one of the above or a new SIG, here’s where to start:

https://wiki.centos.org/SpecialInterestGroup

The value of CentOS Linux is in the community:  the participants and the users. When you use CentOS Linux you are part of a community full of people helping each other. You are using the platform that underlies so much upstream open source community development. That is the value of the trademark -- it says that you are getting the real software from the real community.

If you are interested in using (real) CentOS Linux in various places, you can find our software here:

https://www.centos.org/download/

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