UPDATE: Groupon has decided to use a name other than "Gnome" for its tablet platform for merchants. "After additional conversations with the open source community and the Gnome Foundation, we have decided to abandon our pending trademark applications for 'Gnome,'" the company said. "We will choose a new name for our product going forward."

Our original story follows:

The foundation that runs the open source software project GNOME has accused Groupon of infringing its registered trademark with a new product called “Gnome,” and it's trying to raise $80,000 in donations to oppose Groupon’s trademark applications.

Groupon told Ars that the company is willing to find another name if it can’t reach an acceptable compromise with the GNOME Foundation.

GNOME, a desktop environment for Linux-based operating systems, was created in 1997 as the “GNU Network Object Model Environment.” The acronym is no longer used, but the project name is still stylized in all upper-case letters. It’s had a registered trademark since 2006 for downloadable computer software for creating and managing computer desktops, software for graphical user interfaces, word processing, database management, use as a spreadsheet, and for software tools and libraries that can be used to develop other software applications.

Groupon, a deal-of-the-day website, recently launched a tablet platform for merchants with the name, “Gnome.” The hardware and software can be used by businesses to "instantly recognize their Groupon customers as they enter their business, seamlessly redeem Groupons, and save time and money with a simple point-of-sale system and credit card payment processing service." This is what it looks like:

The people at the GNOME Foundation were not happy about this, and they say they haven’t been able to convince Groupon to pick another name. In an announcement today, the GNOME Foundation said:

Recently Groupon announced a product with the same product name as GNOME. Groupon’s product is a tablet based point of sale “operating system for merchants to run their entire operation." The GNOME community was shocked that Groupon would use our mark for a product so closely related to the GNOME desktop and technology. It was almost inconceivable to us that Groupon, with over $2.5 billion in annual revenue, a full legal team, and a huge engineering staff would not have heard of the GNOME project, found our trademark registration using a casual search, or even found our website, but we nevertheless got in touch with them and asked them to pick another name. Not only did Groupon refuse, but it has now filed even more trademark applications (the full list of applications they filed can be found here, here, and here). To use the GNOME name for a proprietary software product that is antithetical to the fundamental ideas of the GNOME community, the free software community and the GNU project is outrageous. Please help us fight this huge company as they try to trade on our goodwill and hard-earned reputation.

As noted earlier, a Groupon spokesperson told Ars that the company is willing to compromise. “Groupon is a strong and consistent supporter of the open source community, and our developers are active contributors to a number of open source projects,” Groupon said. “We’ve been communicating with the Foundation for months to try to come to a mutually satisfactory resolution, including alternative branding options, and we’re happy to continue those conversations. Our relationship with the open source community is more important to us than a product name. And if we can't come up with a mutually acceptable solution, we'll be glad to look for another name.”

While GNOME is primarily known for being the default desktop of Linux distributions like Red Hat Enterprise Linux, SUSE Linux Enterprise Server, Fedora, and Debian, GNOME also powers software that, like Groupon’s Gnome, is designed specifically for the retail industry. “SUSE Linux Enterprise Point of Service solution for the retail industry is based on GNOME,” the foundation's announcement said. “GNOME technology can be found in TVs, tablets, phones, consumer devices, and in common software everywhere.”

GNOME says it is facing a deadline of December 3 to oppose ten of Groupon's 28 trademark applications. But it needs donations to fight the legal battle. “Our counsel has advised us that we will need $80,000 to oppose the registration of the first set of 10 applications,” GNOME said. “If we are able to defend the mark without spending this amount, we will use the remaining funds to bolster and improve GNOME.”

The Debian and Fedora project leaders put their support behind GNOME’s trademark battle, as did Andrew Lee, co-founder of Private Internet Access.

“This legal defense is not just about protecting GNOME's trademark; it is about asserting to the corporate world that FLOSS [free and libre open source software] trademarks can and will be guarded,” wrote Debian Project Leader Lucas Nussbaum. “Not just by the project in question, but by the community as a whole. As a result, all FLOSS trademarks will be strengthened at once.”

Fedora Project Leader Matthew Miller wrote that he is "shocked and saddened that a company which describes itself as 'fueled by open source software' would even consider muddying the waters by launching proprietary software with the same name." Lee called himself outraged that "Groupon would attempt to insinuate that its proprietary software and products have anything to do with the GNOME community and years of trust and good will that GNOME has built over the years."