If Vince is so determined to copyright names for himself...
 

Why was CM Punk allowed to use his own ringname (and gimmick for that matter)? Did Vince copyright it?




If Monty Brown wasn't able to use his own name, and Colt had to change his, (and others) then I'm not too sure why Punk was able to use his...


And given that Vince gives no credit to the audience, I'm also wonderin as to why he was able to use it instead of a bastardised version for the mark's sake...



Any ideas?

According to USPTO, WWE owns the trademark.

I would imagine that the guys who get name changes refuse to let Vince have the rights. Or he just doesn't like their name.

Like his names are any better.Evan BOURNE has grown on me though I still prefer Matt Sydel but marcus cor von kurt hawkins and zack ryder......seriously??? Ever since he got ass raped in court by The panda people its like hes grown paranoid and selfish.

God I hope edge never leaves and goes to TNA or something theyll change his name to Cusp or verge

Adam Copeland is LIVING ON THE EDGE!

Would TNA sink low enough to make a statement like that just so they can legally say Edge?

Do you really have to ask that question?

If so, I have five words for you:

It's real. It's damn real.

Trademark.

This has never been a uniform deal, either. However, yes, WWE owns the trademark for CM Punk.

But doesn't CM Punk own the intellectual property to the name CM Punk because he established it prior to WWE, so he could technically continue to use that name after life in WWE??

I always assumed that Vince is determined to copyright names because of Kurt Angle leaving and he never wants another performer to debut and use their real name or an established name again (Jeff Hardy being the only exception but not a surprising one because of his history). Would be interesting to know what would have happened had CM Punk debuted after Angle left WWE

Brooks consented to the Trademark, according to the listing at uspto.gov. See, a lot of guys wrestled under their identities prior to WWE, and have signed away the rights to use it as part of their deal with WWE.

It's kind of like your right to remain silent. While you have that fundamental right, if you waive it and say something, you can't go back and un-say it in court simply because it's used against you.

So is that what happened to the Dudleys for example?

Well I think Paul Heyman gave WWE (or acquired from him) the rights to the Dudley name whilst leading the Dudley Boyz to believe somehow they owned the rights, which the Dudley Boyz were pissed off about.

Something to that effect. Heyman owned a lot of the ECW IPs, and had made a lot of promises about ownership before selling them to WWE, IIRC.

Do you think that might actually be part of the reason that CM Punk actually has quite a bit of backing despite basically being the kind of guy that you just know the WWE would love to keep down?

I mean, nothing against the guy's talents, and he did instantly connect with the audiences, but when you add that to Punk being such a clean image (health-wise) for the company, and Punk being willing to sign away the reputation he earned for himself on the independent circuit -- he just looks like a fantastic company man.

I'm a little surprised that Brian Kendrick is still using his real name. You've got Shelton Benjamin and Charlie Haas, as well, but both of those men debuted in like 2002, or something, and haven't really been repackaged (they have undergone character changes, but for the most part, their history is recognised as one continuous lineage).

They have added the "The" which characterises Kendrick a bit more, but if he decided to leave the company (like he has before), "Brian Kendrick" is not too far removed from "The Brian Kendrick." Lance Cade also had a similar thing going until he was released. Maybe the connection is that they are Shawn Michaels' boys?

he can't do anything about that

I think what he meant was in WWE, so they can't take the name they established for themselves with them.

And that's probably true. He doesn't want anyone taking the cred they've built up in WWE anywhere else. I'm pretty sure they don't want anyone in WWE to be built up as someone who was in TNA, either. Vince wants a monopoly.