[Wikimedia-l] [Wikimedia Announcements] Wikimedia Foundation Seeks Declaratory Relief in response to Legal Threats from Internet Brands

[Thomas Morton]

Reading through it now I have had time, and with my legal cap on..

IB probably have a strong enough case to win some of their claims (which is
how civil suits often work).

The behaviour they describe,* if true*, is disappointing (on a personal
note) to see. I don't want to see our guys sued over it - but even so.. not
pleasant to see our lot acting like this.

Tom

On 7 September 2012 16:50, Nathan <nawrich at gmail.com> wrote:

> Reading through the IB filing, they aren't even bothering to structure
> a good case. It's all blather and no substance (claiming, for
> instance, that the defendants have been unjustly enriched by
> establishing a website with a name confusingly similar to WikiTravel;
> when of course no such site exists, and there is no possible way for
> the named defendants to have been enriched at all, unjustly or
> otherwise).
>
> I can see why the WMF described it as a transparent attempt at
> intimidation. The conduct IB is trying to deter has primarily
> consisted of criticizing IB and encouraging the development of an
> alternative; viewed from that angle, and since there is no actual
> underlying business conduct, I wonder if the complaint falls afoul of
> California's strong anti-SLAPP statute. I suppose you'd have to find
> some way of arguing that criticizing IB is in the public interest.
>
>
> On Fri, Sep 7, 2012 at 8:26 AM, David Gerard <dgerard at gmail.com> wrote:
> >
> >
> http://static.ibsrv.net/ibsite/pdf/2012/2012_9_4_Internet%20Brands%20Files%20To%20Protect%20Its%20Wikitravel%20Trademark%20From%20Deliberate%20Infringement.pdf
> >
> > It does indeed look the same as the copy served on Ryan:
> >
> >
> https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/3/38/Internet_Brands_v_William_Ryan_Holliday.pdf
> >
> > Compare and contrast with the Wikimedia PDF.
> >
> >
> > My blog post, in which I emphasise that this is fundamentally an
> > attack on CC by-sa and the freedom of free content:
> >
> >
> http://davidgerard.co.uk/notes/2012/09/06/internet-brands-sues-people-for-forking-under-cc-by-sa/
> >
> >
> > - d.
> >
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