Why is Firefox called Firefox?

Date:
Tue, 18 Apr 2023 22:14:50 GMT

Description:
A story of bullying, and failing to see if a product name is in use before choosing it.

FULL STORY ======================================================================

In 2023, everybody knows the name Firefox.

Utter that name, and nearly every computer user will instantly know you are talking about the web browser from Mozilla Corporation even if Firefox market share has dropped down to less than 3%.

But did you know that Firefox was not originally named Firefox?

In fact the Mozilla Web Browser settled on that name through a series of bad decisions, bullying of another open source project, and a game of word association.

Seriously. You wouldnt think it but its kind of a wild story.

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Who really coined the term 'Open Source'? Subscribe now Before Mozilla had a browser

Our story starts back in 1998

The source code for Netscape, once the most popular web browser in the world, had just been released as open source under The Mozilla Project.

And, over the few years that followed (funded by AOL Time Warner), several
web browsers were created which used that core Mozilla code. Web browsers that, for the most part, have long been forgotten.

Web Browsers such as Galeon , K-Meleon , QBAT.i , and SkipStone . Many browsers, for many platforms all built using the core Mozilla web rendering engine. Yet there was no official Mozilla web browser.

By 2002 it was determined that needed to change. Enter the Phoenix

On September 23rd, 2002, the very first release of the official Mozilla web browser hit the Internet.

Version 0.1 of Phoenix. A big red, flame-y bird that looks like it was drawn with a crayon. Whats not to love?

Phoenix! A fantastic name! So much symbolism!

A new web browser, rising from the ashes of Netscape (which appeared to be losing the browser war to Microsofts Internet Explorer). An inspired choice.

There was just one teensy-weensy little problem: There was already a web browser with that name.

Phoenix FirstWare Connect was a web browser, developed by Phoenix Technologies, that ran entirely in their BIOS (without need for an operating system).

Thats right. Mozilla, the people who spent years building web browser rendering engines, had no idea there was already a browser named Phoenix when they chose the name. If only there has been some sort of engine they could have used to search the Web.

*cough cough*

Phoenix Technologies didnt much care for Mozilla using their name.
Obviously.

Either Mozilla needed to change their name or buckle down for a legal fight they were sure to lose. Mozilla may have had the backing of AOL Time Warner but Phoenix Technologies was big enough (and with a strong enough case) to take them on. Synonyms to the rescue!

Luckily, someone at Mozilla managed to get ahold of an encyclopedia (or possibly a really good thesaurus) and found another word that was often used in place of Phoenix.

On May 17, 2003 the Phoenix browser was renamed to Firebird.

This was incredibly handy as Mozilla didnt even need to change the logo! The big, red, flame-y bird could stay! Huzzah!

And, this time around, the Mozilla team learned to use a Search Engine to see if another product already had the same name! Smart!

Unfortunately, it turns out there was already another open source project, sponsored by a different company, using the Firebird name: The Firebird Database Server .

But Mozilla simply didnt care.

They decided to make adopt the name of the exiting project anyway. They
didnt even contact the other project first. Because they were Mozilla a part of AOL Time Warner and they didnt feel like they needed to do such things. Mozilla the bully

Having two open source projects both running on the same computer platforms using the same name and very similar imagery is not ideal. To say the least.

Especially for the smaller project that came first.

Having a new project copy your name, then plaster the Internet with links to their new project, all backed by AOL? It would become almost impossible to find information about the original project! Logo for the Firebird Database Server.

This was, obviously, a fight worth having. The Firebird Database Server
folks needed to defend their trademark almost as a matter of survival.

Unfortunately

Mozilla was part of AOL Time Warner. A huge, mega corporation with a vast army of lawyers.

The company that sponsored Firebird Database Server, was a little company called IBPhoenix with a limited budget. And, whats worse, no army of
lawyers.

Mozilla was an 800 pound gorilla, and IBPhoenix / Firebird Database simply
was too small to be able to afford a fight with the likes of AOL Time Warner.

Obviously, IBPhoenix asked Mozilla to not use their name but to no avail.

After Mozilla refused to change their name, IBPhoenix did the only thing they could think of they pleaded with their developers and users to email Mozilla, and ask Mozilla to stop using their name.

Mozilla, again, refused. We're still going to use the project name Mozilla Firebird, stated a Mozilla representative in an interview where they attacked the database maker.

The public was beginning to see what a bully Mozilla could be.

Things were not going well for Mozilla at this point. Users were beginning
to boycott the Mozilla browser, and the bad press was getting severe with headlines like " Phoenix flies from frying pan to fire " and " Mozilla's Firebird gets wings clipped ". Then Mozilla plays word association

After nearly a full year of Mozilla using the Firebird name knowingly
harming the Firebird Database Server the entire time Mozilla finally caved
to the public pressure to change the name of their web browser.

On February 9, 2004, the name for the Mozilla web browser officially changed to Firefox with the release of the 0.8 version.

Why did the name become Firefox because it sounded similar to Firebird.

Seriously. Firefox is a name for a panda which had absolutely nothing to do with a Phoenix or Firebird but it had Fire in it so it was good enough!

Well, that and Mozilla felt like there couldnt possibly be any software company, product, or project with that name. The Mozilla leadership was pretty keen on avoiding yet another trademark dispute before their web
browser had even reached version 1.0. They forgot about the United Kingdom

Mozilla even made sure to register Firefox as a Trademark in the USA. Phew! They learned their lesson!

Well. Almost .

While the Mozilla leadership felt like the name Firefox must be totally
unique in the software world it really, really wasnt.

In fact, the name Firefox had been in use for almost a decade by a software company in the United Kingdom named The Charlton Company. The Firefox trademark with the UK Intellectual Property Office .

To make matters worse the name Firefox was specifically being used for communications and connectivity software. Which is kinda-sorta-exactly how you would describe a web browser.

WOOPS!

This would be like a company creating a carbonated soft drink named Coke but thinking it was ok to use the name because they wanted to.

But, rather than get involved in yet another public fight over the third name theyve chosen Mozilla tried to settle things behind the scenes. Eventually, by some time in 2005, Mozilla reached a deal with the Firefox trademark
holder to use the name.

What the terms of that deal are remains unknown. Firefox it shall be!

So, there you have it! Mozilla went through three different names for their web browser all before they even hit version 1.0.

They failed to look around for others using the name twice and the one time they did actually search for others that might be using the name they wanted they decided to use it anyway and simply tried to bully the other company
into submission.

Yet, after all of that, Firefox managed to become a nearly household name. A brand recognized around the world even if less than 3% of computer users actually use it.

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Link to news story: https://lunduke.substack.com/p/why-is-firefox-called-firefox


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