Tuesday, 8 July 2014

Wikipedia – Whether a prima faice evidence to prove popularity of one’s trademark?




Can a Plaintiff, in a suit alleging trademark infringement, rely upon ‘Wikipedia’ to prove his trademark's popularity? This question was answered in negative by the Hon’ble Bombay High Court in its recent decision in Techlegal Solutions Pvt Ltd Vs Mrs. Genelia Ritiesh Deshmukh, whereunder, the Hon’ble Bombay High Court has held that ‘Wikipedia is a multilingual, web-based, free-content encyclopedia-style service. It is freely editable, and entries in its are made collaboratiely by volunteers who, for the most part, remain anonymous. Except in certain limited cases, as Wikipedia says about itself, anyone with Internet access can write and make changes to Wikipedia articles and entries. It is entirely possible for a person to make an entry about his or her own service, product or, for that matter, himself or herself.’

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