[mikejarema]

I noticed the TM used in the title: "Open Startup™". I wasn't sure if TM was used in jest here or whether there was actually an organization behind it holding the exclusive right to use the term.

Anyone know? Is there an "authoritative" source for open startups -- a list, practices, etc etc?

The closest I could find was:

- a TM, "100 OPEN STARTUPS", held by a Brazilian company [https://trademark.trademarkia.com/100-open-startups-87085663...] edit: they have active US and EU trademarks on the term

- Baremetrics' list of open startups, did they pioneer this approach? [https://baremetrics.com/open-startups] edit: openstartups.com redirects here

- A seemingly independent list [https://open-startups.xyz/]

It'd be ironic for the term "open startup" to be locked up behind a TM and a "governing body", so I'm inclined to think it's not. However, the use of the TM here got me wondering.

[AdriaanvRossum]

We use it because we want it to be a common term for startups. We copied it from @levelsio who tweeted about it [1].

According to wikipedia the use of the trademark symbol indicates an assertion that a word, image, or other sign is a trademark; it does not indicate registration. It's not super relevant for our page though.

[1] https://twitter.com/levelsio/status/968219339588493312

[mminer237]

If you want it to be a common term for businesses of different sources, isn't that the exact opposite of the purpose of a trademark?

[reustle]

OP is a close friend of Pieter Levels (of Nomad List) and if you go to nomadlist.com/open you'll see "Open Startup™" as well, linking to open-startup.com which redirects to this tweet:

https://twitter.com/levelsio/status/968219339588493312