Eye on IP

Vol. No. 2011
Tuesday, December 27, 2011

Blackberry Name Snafu Highlights Importance of Trademark Research

Smart phone maker Research in Motion recently demonstrated the importance of conducting trademark research before committing to a name for your product. Less than two months after the maker of the Blackberry devices announced that its new operating system would be called BBX, the company was forced to alter course. It will now be called BlackBerry 10.

The change was prompted by a restraining order secured in federal court by a small Albuquerque-based software maker, Basis International. The company has long used the name BBx on its own software products.

After RIM announced the BBX name at a developers¡¦ conference in San Francisco in October, Basis sought a permanent injunction under trademark laws. It also asked for the temporary order to prevent RIM from using the name at its developer¡¦s conference in Singapore this month.

In a statement on Wednesday about the name change, RIM did not acknowledge the trademark infringement action by Basis International. ¡§The BlackBerry 10 name reflects the significance of the new platform and will leverage the global strength of the BlackBerry brand while also aligning perfectly with RIM¡¦s device branding,¡¨ the statement said.

Source: NY Times

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