Some anon-IP user on [[Talk:OmniCode]] has been rattling sabers about threatening to sue people for failing to acknowledge a company named Omnicode, which apparently has a registered trademark on that name which is being allegedly infringed by the geek-coding system called OmniCode which is featured in the Wikipedia article of that name.
It's certainly possible that the creator of that coding system is committing a trademark violation by using the name, but would Wikipedia or its editors have any liability for writing an article about it? It would seem that a noncommercial, encyclopedic use of the name in the course of discussing something that the name has been used for (legally or illegally) wouldn't itself be actionable, but I'm not a lawyer.
Daniel R. Tobias wrote:
Some anon-IP user on [[Talk:OmniCode]] has been rattling sabers about threatening to sue people for failing to acknowledge a company named Omnicode, which apparently has a registered trademark on that name which is being allegedly infringed by the geek-coding system called OmniCode which is featured in the Wikipedia article of that name.
It's certainly possible that the creator of that coding system is committing a trademark violation by using the name, but would Wikipedia or its editors have any liability for writing an article about it? It would seem that a noncommercial, encyclopedic use of the name in the course of discussing something that the name has been used for (legally or illegally) wouldn't itself be actionable, but I'm not a lawyer.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:General_disclaimer#Trademarks
Any of the trademarks, service marks, collective marks, design rights, personality rights or similar rights that are mentioned, used or cited in the articles of the Wikipedia encyclopedia are the property of their respective owners. Their use here does not imply that you may use them for any other purpose other than for the same or a similar informational use as contemplated by the original authors of these Wikipedia articles under the GFDL licensing scheme. Unless otherwise stated Wikipedia and Wikimedia sites are neither endorsed nor affiliated with any of the holders of any such rights and as such Wikipedia can not grant any rights to use any otherwise protected materials. Your use of any such or similar incorporeal property is at your own risk.
Any gripes that they have over the trademark can be taken elsewhere, before they are indefinately blocked for making legal threats.
Trademarks don't give you blanket ownership of a term. They give you protection against people using a term in a specific context, and that's it - basically, the context of similar things to what you use the trademark for.
-Matt
Is the supposed trademark owner in the coding business?
On 10/21/06, Matthew Brown morven@gmail.com wrote:
Trademarks don't give you blanket ownership of a term. They give you protection against people using a term in a specific context, and that's it - basically, the context of similar things to what you use the trademark for.
-Matt _______________________________________________ WikiEN-l mailing list WikiEN-l@Wikipedia.org To unsubscribe from this mailing list, visit: http://mail.wikipedia.org/mailman/listinfo/wikien-l
MacGyverMagic/Mgm wrote:
On 10/21/06, Matthew Brown morven@gmail.com wrote:
Trademarks don't give you blanket ownership of a term. They give you protection against people using a term in a specific context, and that's it - basically, the context of similar things to what you use the trademark for.
Is the supposed trademark owner in the coding business?
It really doesn't matter. We're not the ones to determine such things; that's what the courts are for. Anyone making legal threats against us or any of our editors will be blocked indefinately.