[WikiEN-l] ThumbDrive(R) registered as a trademark in part because of a Wikipedia edit

[Cool Hand Luke]

Yeah, that's the trend in US District Courts.  I was surprised to see a
quote apparently helpful to the applicant without even a footnote for the
proposition "oh, but it's Wikipedia."

Frank




On Wed, Dec 29, 2010 at 4:49 AM, Newyorkbrad <newyorkbrad at gmail.com> wrote:

> Interestingly, here's a recent TTAB decision (albeit non-precedential) that
> was recently linked on WR, holding that a Wikipedia article may NOT
> generally be used to establish controverted facts in a registration
> proceeding:
>
> http://ttabvue.uspto.gov/ttabvue/ttabvue-91188584-OPP-10.pdf
>
> This is consistent with the weight of the (court) caselaw in the US.
>  Judges
> sometimes cite Wikipedia articles for uncontroversial background
> information, but hold that they aren't admissible to establish disputed
> facts -- in large measure, simply relying on the on-wiki disclaimers.
>
> Newyorkbrad
>
>
>
> On Tue, Dec 28, 2010 at 10:15 PM, Cool Hand Luke <
> failure.to.communicate at gmail.com> wrote:
>
> > I've just awarded a
> > barnstar<
> > http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/User_talk:EJSawyer#Precedent_Barnstar>to
> > an editor who contributed a key word to an article quoted by the
> > Trademark Trial and Appeal Board in the case *In re Trek 2000*.
> >
> > As it turns out, the TTAB allows references to Wikipedia, which I find to
> > be
> > insane.  An IP attorney blogging about the decision gamely noted that
> > "Wikipedia
> > is available for posting a favorable entry regarding
> > [trademarks]"!<
> >
> http://thettablog.blogspot.com/2010/12/precedential-no-43-ttab-reverses.html
> > >
> >
> > Cool Hand Luke
>
>