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RIM sues LG over Blackberry trademark |
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Written by Felix Da Silva (fdasilva@bitnip.com)
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Friday, 09 November 2007 |
 Research In Motion (RIM), the maker of BlackBerry, sued LG Electronics claiming its
Black Label mobile phones infringe the BlackBerry trademark.
Bloomberg reported that in the complaint filed by RIM, they claim that LG's phones are sold under a name that is 'confusingly similar' to the BlackBerry. RIM seeks a court order barring LG from using the Black Label
name and unspecified damages.
RIM is also trying to get a court order that effectively would give it exclusive use of the word "berry" in the mobile business. They claimed that the 'Strawberry' model in the 'Black Label' series also tramples on its trademark rights.
This suit is similar to the one where RIM settled with Samsung over the trademark issue for 'BlackJack' phones on undisclosed terms earlier this year. RIM did disclose that, as part of the settlement, Samsung dropped its trademark application for BlackJack.
One theory as to why RIM is so protective of their 'black' and 'berry' marks for smart phones is that they're afraid of genericide. Other marks that have become generic are Aspirin, Elevator, Kleenex, Band-aid, etc. They have spent a lot of money building this brand and it is no wonder why they're so keen to protect it.
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