[R-pkg-devel] Change package name

[William Becker]

Dear All,
 
I am the maintainer of a package which is unfortunately involved in a complicated dispute regarding its intellectual property (since the package was partly built under a contract with an organisation), but also the "branding" of the package, i.e. the name.
 
The story is long and complicated, but suffice to say that the name of the package is apparently creating a misleading connection with the organisation, and this is causing difficulties on both sides.
 
I am aware that changing the name of a package is very disruptive, and I am not considering it lightly. However just for information at this stage, I wonder if anyone could tell me whether packages have ever changed names on CRAN, what the rules are in these cases, and if there is any advice for minimising the disruption.
 
To reiterate, I am not (yet) planning to do this, but exploring options and looking for advice.
 
Thanks for any help,
William
 
William Becker PhD
willbecker.me https://www.willbecker.me/
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