Federico Leva (Nemo) wrote on September 26, 2013, 15:22 UTC:
Trademark don't self-enforce, they are
"enforceable" as long as
someone believes to you when you use them as threat tools. So yes, I
suppose they might.
... and given that the WMF just hired the infamous Jones Day bullies
as their representative before the OHIM to fight an opposition filled
by their own volunteers (me and Federico), I don't think it's an
unfair view.
I suggest that everyone interested in the subject read
<http://www.dmlp.org/blog/2009/sam-bayard/thoughts-jones-day-blockshopper-settlement>
and related links for an overview of a 2009 Jones Day lawsuit against a start-up company
Blockshopper.com which Paul Levy called "a new a new entry in the contest for
grossest abuse of trademark law to suppress speech the plaintiff doesn’t
like".
I'm aware that, being a party of the opposition, I shouldn't really
comment on the WMF's litigation tactics, but it still leaves me wonder
about the point of hiring, as some say, "one of the worst trademark
abusers in history", as their representative in this case.
Tomasz