[Foundation-l] Wikipedia trade mark misuse

Jussi-Ville Heiskanen cimonavaro at gmail.com
Mon Jun 14 23:42:35 UTC 2010


Thomas Dalton wrote:
> On 15 June 2010 00:17, Jussi-Ville Heiskanen <cimonavaro at gmail.com> wrote:
>   
>> I happen to know there is an English phrase "Doctor, heal
>> thyself."
>>
>> You probably ANAL. But that doesn't stop you from FUDDing.
>>     
>
> I'm an anal non-lawyer, at that! I may be spreading uncertainty and
> doubt and something that is very uncertain and doubtful, but I don't
> think anyone is particularly frightened by anything I'm saying.
>
>   
>> Tardises are antiquated visual whatchamacallits, but not
>> even remotely "trademarks".
>>     
>
> Now you are just embarrassing yourself. Check your facts:
> http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/entertainment/2352743.stm
>
>   
You are probably expecting me to eat crow here.

I seriously doubt anyone would have a problem with
usage of the textual expression "police whatever box",
but the visual representation of what most people would
think was a _TARDIS_, and nothing to do with police,
would be a mite jarring.

On the same level, I would really think somebody
using the puzzle globe on their site (or even a non-trivially
distinguishable mock-up) was pushing their luck.

The word "wiki" seriously, you really should take it
in, is *not* something defensibly ours.

So yes, if you really want to consider me embarrased
by the fact that I was talking about words that are
very live and current, rather than antiquated images
only surviving because of a popular culture connection...

...you have to be a very sick puppy indeed. Takes much
more than that to embarrass me.


>> You are claiming the law is complicated. But the facts are
>> plain and simple, and no amount of FUDD is going to support
>> a view that there is any reasonable justification (by moral
>> or juridifical standards) to claim WMF is the body to apply
>> for permission to use "wiki" on something. That just ain't
>> gonna happen, *nohow*. Sorry. That is just a fact. Don't try
>> to squirm.
>>     
>
> You can repeat it as much as you like. That doesn't make it so.
>   

Indeed, the cards speak for themselves.


Yours,

Jussi-Ville Heiskanen





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