NEWS Microsoft set to rebrand SkyDrive following trademark dispute
Computer soſtware company Microsoſt has reached an agreement with broadcaster BSkyB and will rebrand its SkyDrive service following a trademark dispute.
Microsoſt has decided not to appeal against a court ruling which said SkyDrive infringed the ‘Sky’ trademark.
Te settlement, reached on July 31, will allow Microsoſt to continue using the name temporarily but it will be forced to rebrand.
In June, High Court judge Mrs Justice Asplin ruled that Microsoſt’s use of the name SkyDrive, for its cloud storage system, infringed BSkyB’s branding in the UK and EU.
Making reference to customers’ confusion such as
calling the wrong helpline, Asplin said there had been a misrepresentation, “whether intentional or not”.
Microsoſt previously indicated it wished to appeal against the ruling, arguing that the name was a description of its cloud services.
But in a statement, Microsoſt said it was “glad to have reached a resolution,” adding it was keen to continue the services its customers have come to expect.
Lara Grant, senior attorney at Avidity IP, said it was important for Microsoſt to “brush the case under the carpet”.
She told TB&I: “Aſter the long court procedure Microsoſt has likely foreseen that it was not going to be successful with an appeal and would
potentially run up thousands or further expenses.”
millions in
“Te ruling is quite clear,” added Grant, “‘Sky’ is a well-known trademark that customers know and trust. By Microsoſt adding ‘Drive’ to the title it doesn’t add or describe anything that would distinguish it and customers could quite clearly still believe they were using a BSkyB product.”
Te agreement also contains financial “and other” terms, the details of which are confidential.
“I expect Microsoſt will have settled in the form of legal proceedings but for them the important thing now is to brush this under the carpet and rebrand into something recognisable and attributable to them,” said Grant.
“We are pleased to have reached a settlement,” said BSkyB, which is partly owned by news mogul Rupert Murdoch.
“We will remain vigilant in protecting the Sky brand and will continue to take appropriate action against those companies who seek to use our trademark without consent,” it added.
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squiresanders.com www.worldipreview.com Trademarks Brands and the Internet Volume 2, Issue 3 7
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