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# Web 2.0 Trademark Closure
- URL: https://www.chrismessina.me/blog/web-20-trademark-closure/
- Published: 2006-09-04T16:32:09.000Z
- Updated: 2026-03-25T03:43:01.000Z
- Author: Chris Messina
- Tags: Civil liberties, Society & economy

So in case you missed it, [Tim O'Reilly](http://radar.oreilly.com/tim/?ref=chrismessina.me) has posted [a follow-up about the Web2.0 Trademark spat](http://radar.oreilly.com/archives/2006/08/web%5F20%5Ftrademark%5Fredux.html?ref=chrismessina.me) that [engulfed](http://radar.oreilly.com/archives/2006/05/web%5F20%5Fservice%5Fmark%5Fcontrovers.html?ref=chrismessina.me) the blogerati a few months back. I put in my own two cents pertaining to the [relevance of the debate to my Community Mark initiative](http://factoryjoe.com/blog/2006/05/29/why-barcamp-is-a-community-mark/?ref=chrismessina.me). The outcome seems that Tim has asked CMP to take a more narrow view of their trademark: It will only seek to protect the Web 2.0 trademark if another other Web 2.0-related event has a name that is confusingly similar to the names of the actual events co-produced by CMP and O'Reilly, such as our events "[The Web 2.0 Conference](http://www.web2con.com/?ref=chrismessina.me)" and "The [Web 2.0 Expo](http://web2-0expo.com/?ref=chrismessina.me)." So while I can appreciate [Tom's](http://tomrafteryit.net/?ref=chrismessina.me) [initial Irish-blooded reaction](http://www.tomrafteryit.net/oreilly-trademarks-web-20-and-sets-lawyers-on-itcork/?ref=chrismessina.me) ([309 comments](http://www.tomrafteryit.net/oreilly-trademarks-web-20-and-sets-lawyers-on-itcork/?ref=chrismessina.me#comments)!?!), I think this is a fair compromise in the end. I can *also* see why people confused "O'Reilly" with "CMP"; [Tim](http://radar.oreilly.com/tim/?ref=chrismessina.me), take this with a grain of salt, but I think more than anything, this is a common misconception that is wholly yours to clear up, which, [with this post](http://radar.oreilly.com/archives/2006/08/web%5F20%5Ftrademark%5Fredux.html?ref=chrismessina.me#c153360), I think you have done. Now that that's behind us, maybe we should start talking about [what's next for digital rights online](http://copycamp.ca/?ref=chrismessina.me)?