Ever tried to build something with IP cameras and put the word ONVIF on your site? ONVIF.org will come after you with trademark threats.
Doesn’t matter if your product really supports it, or if it’s even open source. They’ll tell you to delete “ONVIF-compatible” unless you cough up for their $20,000/year membership.
It feels backwards ... engineers need to say if things interoperate, customers search for “ONVIF” to check compatibility, yet instead of helping adoption they act like brand cops. Is this normal for “open standards”? Or is ONVIF.org just uniquely hostile here? I don't think they are right here, but having released a completely free product and got a trademark and a demand for 20k a year and being told I cannot use the word ONVIF in any way shape or form seems insane! Thoughts?
It feels backwards ... engineers need to say if things interoperate, customers search for “ONVIF” to check compatibility, yet instead of helping adoption they act like brand cops. Is this normal for “open standards”? Or is ONVIF.org just uniquely hostile here? I don't think they are right here, but having released a completely free product and got a trademark and a demand for 20k a year and being told I cannot use the word ONVIF in any way shape or form seems insane! Thoughts?