Posted 11/16/09 at 08:25:45 PM by Ryan Whitwam

We all know how important brand recognition is. A Swedish maker of USB drives, Sandryds Handel AB, is showing how acutely aware of that they are by commandeering a very well known logo: that of The Pirate Bay. The company plans to offer a series of USB drives bearing the logo.  That by itself isn’t actually illegal or cause for concern.  The Pirate Bay logo is intentionally not registered so that it may be used freely.

It all goes off the tracks when Sandryds Handel AB decided to register the logo themselves. This would limit the ways others could use it. “It will be turned over quite easily; it’s a preliminary registration that is being ‘tested’,” said former Pirate Bay spokesman Peter Sunde.

The Pirate Bay is seeking to have the decision by the patent office annulled.  If the Pirate Bay still has the sway online that is once did, Sandryds Handel might want to rethink this course of action.

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Posted 08/20/09 at 04:00:42 PM by Paul Lilly

Last month, Twitter co-founder Isaac "Biz" Stone jotted down in a blog post his intention of trademarking the term "Tweet," which at the time probably seemed like a slam dunk request. Instead, the request is turning out to be no easy layup as the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office has preliminarily denied the patent app.

Whether or not the decision is fair, we'll leave that up to you decide, but here's the deal Three other companies -- TweetMarks, Cotweet, and Tweetphoto -- already have pending applications for trademarks that contain "tweet" in their names. This was enough to make the Patent Office gunshy in granting Twitter's request, at least for now, even though Stone expressed in his blog his company's willingness to let developers use the term.

"We have applied to trademark Tweet because it is clearly attached to Twitter from a brand perspective but we have no intention of 'going after' the wonderful applications and services that use the word in their name when associated with Twitter," Stone wrote on the same day the patent application was filed. "In fact, we encourage the use of the word Tweet. however, if we come across a confusing or damaging project, the recourse to act responsibly to protect both users and our brand is important."

Should Twitter be granted the trademark? Hit the jump and sound off!

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Posted 08/18/09 at 07:17:19 PM by Pulkit Chandna

The verbal proximity of Harris Corporation’s Centrio product name – used to sell a “breakthrough multiviewer” - to Intel’s Centrino brand name alarmed the chip maker to such an extent that it decided to sue the former. Last week, it initiated a lawsuit alleging that Harris Corporation’s Centrio trademark infringes upon its Centrino trademark.

Intel fears that people may confuse Harris Corporation’s Centrio trade name with its Centrino brand as they are “substantially and confusingly similar.”

According to Intel, it resorted to taking legal action after all its attempts to “resolve this dispute amicably with Harris” proved to be sleeveless. It doesn’t take a legal virtuoso to tell that when Harris Corporation’s lawyers get down to refuting Intel’s claims, they would draw the court’s attention to the disparateness between the respective products the two trademarks are associated with.

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Posted 07/15/09 at 08:30:19 AM by Paul Lilly

Besides putting the finishing touches on Windows 7 and Office 2010, what else has Microsoft been up to lately? Perhaps gearing up to open an app store for its Zune HD media player, if trademark application 77775625 for the trademark "ONEAPP" is any indication. The application covers:

"Computer software for allowing mobile device users to send messages, make payments and access and play music, games and videos on mobile devices; computer software platforms for developing mobile applications; computer software, namely, software development tools for the creation of mobile applications; computer software for runing retail store site for purchase and download of mobile applications over wireless networks."

It's all speculation at this point, but in one part of the filing, Microsoft specifically mentions "media players," which points squarely at the Zune HD. But if that is what Microsoft's up to, the company has a lot of ground to make up with Apple announcing its App Store surpassing the 1.5 billion download mark just three months after it recorded 1 billion downloads.

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Posted 06/01/09 at 10:15:41 AM by Paul Lilly

For a minute there, we were worried that the 4,382 (number pulled out of a hat) times we used the term 'netbook' would come back and bite us in the rump. That is, if Psion got its way. Back in December 2008, a UK law firm representing Psion had begun sending out cease & desist letters to various websites demanding that the sites stop using the term, which Psion claims to have owned based on a pair of old notebooks it used to sell.

Then in March 2009, Psion filed a $1.2 billion countersuit against Intel over the alleged trademark, a move which probably earned the company a bit of jingle. Not anywhere near the full $1.2 billion, mind you, but Psion did announce today that it and Intel "have settled the trademark cancellation and infringement litigation brought in the Northen District of California relating to the 'netbook' trademark registration."

Psion said an "amicable agreement" had been reached in which the company has voluntarily agreed to withdraw all of its trademark registrations for the term 'netbook.' Furthermore, the company agreed to waive its rights against third parties for past, current, or future use of the term.

Exactly what that "amicable agreement" amounted to is anyone's guess.

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Posted 03/03/09 at 01:10:43 PM by Paul Lilly

Holy high stakes, Batman, is Psion really seeking $1.2 billion from Intel in defending its claim to the netbook trademark? The answer is yes, and in addition to seeking compensation for all of "Intel's profits resulting from infringement, unfair competition, and unfair trade practices," as Psion alleges, the company also wants to collect punitive damages. Psion is also seeking to pluck the domain name www.netbook.com from Intel's hands.

If you haven't been following, Psion's trademark claim is based on a pair of ARM-based "netBook" and "netBook Pro" computers launced in 1999, which it appears to have stopped selling in 2003. Psion renewed the trademark in 2006, and then last December the company started sending out cease-and-desist notices to various OEMs and other firms over use of the term "netbook." Nobody listened, but it didn't matter, because it appears Psion was simply laying the groundwork for the suit we're seeing today.

Two weeks ago Dell filed a petition with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office asking that it cancel Psion's netbook trademark, for which Intel endorsed. Among the reasons listed is that "Psion has abandoned the 'netbook' mark" and does not currently offer laptops under the Netbook trademark. But Psion says this isn't true and has offered up a table of netBook-based revenue from 1999 through 2009, which as ArsTechnica points out, the numbers "are somewhat suspect." For example, according to Psion's numbers, customers purchased $2 million in accessoris for just $135,000 worth of netBooks.

Predictions on how it will all unfold? Hit the jump and tell us what you think!

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Posted 02/20/09 at 10:02:47 AM by Paul Lilly

Little known Psion Teklogix, who used to sell a pair of laptops called the netBook and netBook Pro, emerged from the shadows last December to demand that websites stop using the term 'netbook.' According to the company's trademark attorney, now is the time to cash in on what has become an exploding new market sector all this netbook talk could damage Psion's trademark registrations.

Ready for the irony? Dell has filed a petition with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office asking that it cancel Psion's netbook trademark. This coming from the same company  who tried (unsuccessfully) to trademark the term Cloud computing. Nevertheless, the situation isn't the same, and Dell's first basis for cancellation is that "Psion has abandoned the 'netbook' mark" by no longer offering laptops under the trademark. 

The three-basis petition also included an argument for fraud, saying Psion had not been using the netbook trademark as of November 17, 2006, despite signing a sworn declaration that it was, and genericness, pointing out that the widespread use of the term netbook has made it generic.

Read the full petition here (PDF), then hit the jump and tell us what you think.

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Posted 12/18/08 at 01:57:12 PM by Pulkit Chandna

Speculation has been rife about the possible use Microsoft might make of the “Kumo” name. The general consensus amongst the speculators has been that Kumo would be the new name of Microsoft’s Live Search service. But a new trademark application filed by Microsoft hints that the new name might be used for a few other MS services as well.

The Kumo trademark is intended for use in sundry segments, including advertising, telecommunications, education, training and entertainment, and not just for online search. Microsoft has also registered quite a few domains with the name Kumo in them. Maybe Microsoft believes that a brand new name might just turn the tide in its favor as far as the high-stakes online search market goes.

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