[TUHS] The Case of UNIX vs. The UNIX System

[Rik Farrow]

You've got that right, although I learned that from a different
perspective. A Unix magazine I contracted for was contacted more than once
by AT&T legal saying "Unix" is an adjective, not a noun. I didn't know
about the connection with copyright.

Rik


On Fri, Feb 14, 2025 at 1:40 PM Brantley Coile <brantley at coraid.com> wrote:

> UNIX is a trademark and as such, it's an adjective and needs a noun to go
> with it. Unix operating system is okay. Unix system is more descriptive.
> It's a intellectual property thing.
>
> Brantley
>
> > On Feb 14, 2025, at 3:36 PM, segaloco via TUHS <tuhs at tuhs.org> wrote:
> >
> > So in most technical circles and indeed in the research communities
> surrounding
> > UNIX, the name of the system was just that, UNIX, prefixed often with
> some
> > descriptor of which stream, be it Research, USG, BSD/Berkeley, but in
> any case
> > the name UNIX itself was descriptive of the operating system for many of
> its
> > acolytes and disciples.
> >
> > However, in AT&T literature and media, addition of "System" to the end
> of the
> > formal name seemed to become de facto if not de jure.  This can be seen
> for
> > instance in manual edits in the early 80s with references to just "UNIX"
> being
> > replaced with variations on "The UNIX System", sometimes haphazardly as
> if done
> > via a search and replace with little review.  This too is evident in some
> > informative films published by AT&T, available on YouTube today as
> > "The UNIX Operating System" and "UNIX: Making Computers Easier to
> Use"[1][2].
> > Discrepancies in the titles of the videos notwithstanding, throughout it
> seems
> > there are several instances where audio of an interviewee saying
> > "The UNIX System" were edited over what I presume were instances of them
> simply
> > saying UNIX.
> >
> > I'm curious if anyone has the scoop on whether this was an attempt to
> echo the
> > "One Bell System" and related terminology, marketing tag lines like
> > "The System is the Solution", and/or the naming of the revisions
> themselves as
> > "System <xyz>".  On the other hand, could it have simply been for
> clarity, with
> > the uninitiated not being able to glean from the product name anything
> about it,
> > making the case for adding "System" in formal descriptions to give them
> a little
> > bit of a hint.
> >
> > Bell Labs folks especially, was there ever some grand thou shalt call it
> > "The UNIX System" in all PR directive or was it just something that
> organically
> > happened over time as bureaucratic powers at be got their hands on a
> part of the
> > steering wheel?
> >
> > - Matt G.
> >
> > [1] - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tc4ROCJYbm0
> > [2] - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XvDZLjaCJuw
>
>
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