Even if they finally manage to register the 'python' trademark, I guess their project will be so severely boycotted that it won't stand a chance of succeeding. I think they've just found a way to get advertisement for free and they will finally give up with the trademark claim, but that's just a wild guess.
What I'd like to point out is that in many countries there is the concept of 'unregistered trademark':
They may however benefit from protection due to other features of the law in relation to trademarks, such as protection for unregistered marks in the United Kingdom resulting from Passing off law.
Passing off is a common law tort which can be used to enforce unregistered trademark rights.
I am not a lawyer and I cannot tell if the above applies to the current situation. I am just pointing it out just in case 'python' can be considered as an unregistered trademark (held by the Python Foundation) in the UK and thus get any benefits or protection from any local laws.
What I'd like to point out is that in many countries there is the concept of 'unregistered trademark':
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Unregistered_trademark
Quoting from the Wikipedia page:
They may however benefit from protection due to other features of the law in relation to trademarks, such as protection for unregistered marks in the United Kingdom resulting from Passing off law.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Passing_off
Passing off is a common law tort which can be used to enforce unregistered trademark rights.
I am not a lawyer and I cannot tell if the above applies to the current situation. I am just pointing it out just in case 'python' can be considered as an unregistered trademark (held by the Python Foundation) in the UK and thus get any benefits or protection from any local laws.
My 2 cents