Wow. I didn't know it was that serious an issue.
AngloSaxonUSA originally wanted to create a logo that tied AROS to it's Amiga past. I don't really see that Eric is a direct part of that past, and even if he is, the Kitty logo does not clearly represent it in a way that ASUSA desires.
Yeah, the Kitty doesn't directly tie to the Amiga's past. Of course, that is one of the reasons that I think it is better. Tainting AROS with anything that could even spark an idea from Ainc that they might be able to sue is bad in my book.
Something like this suggestion would be way better for a distribution logo. That way if AInc gets any bright ideas, it can just be dropped and something else picked. The Kitty mascot, with the cats eye logo is really a very good logo.
The problem with paying homage to the past is that if you have too many pieces from the other product, you could cause confusion. If you cause confusion, you are treading on thin ice concerning trademark. Since, the point of trademark is to prevent confusion. The difference between a product that looks the same, and a counterfeit are whether the product is being passed off as coming from someone else.
Getting rid of the rainbow check marks is a good idea. The checkerboard dartboard would make a lot of sense for Ainc, but it may be too close to a boing ball. The fact that it is a dartboard instead of an arrow target does make sense though, because the difference between a big dart, and a little arrow is only how you launch it.