trademark

Facebook, Think settle trademark dispute

Facebook and Think Computer have settled a dispute over whether the former actually owns the term "facebook."

Under the settlement announced late Friday, Think has agreed to abandon its efforts to get the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office to cancel the trademark issued to Facebook in 2006.

The story behind the dispute between Think and Facebook is a long, convoluted one. But according to the joint statement, Think founder Aaron Greenspan attended Harvard with Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg earlier this decade. In 2003, Think released HouseSystem, a Web-based student portal that included a section called "The … Read more

Google change could stir more advertiser angst

Google's love-hate relationship with the advertisers that pay its bills could hit another rocky patch following its latest AdWords policy change.

Google announced Thursday night that starting next month it would begin allowing certain companies to purchase advertisements that use trademarks--even ones they don't own--in the text of their ads on Google search results. Previously, Google hadn't allowed anyone but the trademark owner to use a trademark in the text of an ad, but the search giant reversed course, saying "we believe that this change will help both our users and advertisers by reducing the number … Read more

Google revises AdWords trademark policy

Google has revised its policy on trademarks appearing in keyword ads, allowing brand names to show up in AdWords copy.

Google will begin accepting new ads that contain trademark terms on Friday although the ads will not surface online until June 11. Dan Friedman, a member of the Inside AdWords crew, announced the shift Thursday in a company blog:

In an effort to improve ad quality and user experience, we are adjusting our trademark policy in the U.S. to allow some ads to use trademarks in the ad text. This change will bring Google's policy on trademark use … Read more

Innovation can breathe again: Patent filings decline

For those of us who believe that patents stifle innovation, this week brings good news: patent filings are down, as PatentlyO reports. After years of steadily increasing, U.S. patent filings have dropped, perhaps reflecting the bad economy.

Or perhaps an increase in common sense? Nah....

While the PatentlyO blog suggests this is a "crisis," I'm with TechDirt: the only crisis is that it has taken so long for patent filings to decline:

Considering the large number of bad patents that got through over the years, and the resulting flood of applications from others hoping to strike … Read more

Psion says Intel 'unjustly enriched' by Netbook

Psion Teklogix has answered Intel's claims regarding the chipmaker's right to use the term "Netbook." The Canadian company claims that Intel is being "unjustly enriched" by unauthorized use of the trademark.

Last week, Intel filed for a declaratory judgment against Psion Teklogix, claiming that the the term "netbook" is a "widely used generic term that describes a class of affordable computing devices, much like the term 'notebook' or 'ultra-mobile PC,'" Intel said in a statement last week.

Not surprisingly, Psion had a firm response: "Intel has acted willfully and … Read more

Intel moves against Psion for 'Netbook' trademark

Intel has filed for a declaratory judgment against Psion Teklogix in order to continue using the term "Netbook" generically. The legal filing also revealed, as a separate matter, that Google would prohibit search advertisements that include the term "netbook."

What's the difference between a Netbook and a notebook? More than the design, according to Psion Teklogix.

Psion "purports to be the owner of U.S. Trademark Registration No. 2404976 issued on November 21, 2000 for the mark Netbook for use in connection with laptop computer," according to an Intel legal filing in the … Read more

Dell battles over 'Netbook' trademark

Here's how you know how enamored Dell is with the Netbook concept: it's volunteered to fight over the trademark on behalf of all other Netbook makers.

On Wednesday the PC maker filed a petition with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office to cancel a registered trademark for the term "Netbook" by a company called Psion.

Psion is a Canadian mobile computer maker that owns the trademark and indeed has sold a product called Netbook in the past. Psion began sending some tech bloggers and Netbook makers cease-and-desist notices late last year asking them to stop … Read more

iFart Mobile to Pull My Finger: You stink

The iPhone farting app market is starting to get pretty noisy.

iFart Mobile, maker of an app that simulates farting noises, asked a court on Friday to rule that it can use the term "pull my finger" without risking trademark infringement claims by another iPhone fart app named, you guessed it, Pull My Finger.

InfoMedia, which developed iFart Mobile, filed a complaint for declaratory judgment in Colorado District Court and named rival Air-O-Matic as defendant.

In a blog posting, InfoMedia said it filed the complaint after an attorney for Air-O-Matic asked the company to pay $50,000 to … Read more

Judge: Psystar can claim Apple 'copyright misuse'

A federal judge is letting Mac clone maker Psystar amend its legal defense against Apple.

Psystar was delivered a blow in November, when Judge William Alsup of the U.S. District Court in Northern California dismissed Psystar's antitrust claims against the Cupertino, Calif.-based Mac maker. The antitrust suit was a response to a copyright and trademark infringement suit Apple filed in July against Psystar, whose OpenComputers are designed to run the Mac OS X operating system.

In its amended complaint, Psystar accuses Apple of copyright misuse, as well as unfair competition violations based on its alleged copyright misuse. … Read more