Defending Our Brand (Let's Encrypt)
It seems that the Comodo TLS certificate authority (CA) has filed for three trademarks using variations of "Let's Encrypt". As might be guessed, the Let's Encrypt project is less than pleased by Comodo trying to coopt its name. "Since March of 2016 we have repeatedly asked Comodo to abandon their "Let's Encrypt" applications, directly and through our attorneys, but they have refused to do so. We are clearly the first and senior user of "Let's Encrypt" in relation to Internet security, including SSL/TLS certificates - both in terms of length of use and in terms of the widespread public association of that brand with our organization.If necessary, we will vigorously defend the Let's Encrypt brand we've worked so hard to build. That said, our organization has limited resources and a protracted dispute with Comodo regarding its improper registration of our trademarks would significantly and unnecessarily distract both organizations from the core mission they should share: creating a more secure and privacy-respecting Web. We urge Comodo to do the right thing and abandon its "Let's Encrypt" trademark applications so we can focus all of our energy on improving the Web."[Thanks to Paul Wise.]