Why is “Open Architecture Train Control” Trademarked?
“Open” means different things to different people. Some firms claim their systems are open because their products have an RS-232 port. While a first step in the right direction RS-232 defines only the physical communications layer. Therefore, to prevent abuse of the OATC term, a TSD trademarked logo is applied to a subsystem that has a fully exposed interface and connects to a well defined network. It is useful to note that as of early 2003 a Google web search of “Open Architecture Train Control” returns only a few links containing this term and all but two links refer back to www.tsd.org web pages where we are defining it here. However, because OATC is intended to be an open consensus-based development what we agree OATC means in the future may evolve. So stay tuned. The web based discussion forum is planned shortly.
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