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

[Stuff Received]

On 2025-02-14 15:40, Brantley Coile 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.

This is correct.

UNIX is currently listed as a trademark of the Open Group in the USPTO 
(https://tsdr.uspto.gov/#caseNumber=87120150&caseSearchType=US_APPLICATION&caseType=DEFAULT&searchType=documentSearch) 
with the following statement: "The certification mark, as used by 
persons authorized by the certifier, certifies that the goods have met 
the specifications and standards identified in the certifier's Product 
Standard."

Incidentally, if you search for unix, you find boatloads of Unix 
trademarks that have nothing to do with s/w (such as sunglasses, 
zippers, drawing instruments, ...)

S.

> 
> 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
>