Skype's name is too similar to Sky's to tell the difference, European court says
No money will be exchanged as a result of ruling and the name will not be changed, but Microsoft will be prevented from trademarking the name of its chat app
Your support helps us to tell the story
From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.
At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.
The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.
Your support makes all the difference.The names of Skype and Sky are too similar for the public to tell the difference between them, a European court has ruled.
The ruling means that Microsoft won’t be able to get a trademark on its chat app, Skype. But it won’t see any money change hands, because there is no infringement — European judges are just worried that citizens wouldn’t be able to tell the difference between the two.
"Conceptually, the figurative element [of the names] conveys no concept, except perhaps that of a cloud,” European judges said, according to the BBC.
"[That] would further increase the likelihood of the element 'Sky' being recognised within the word element 'Skype', for clouds are to be found 'in the sky' and thus may readily be associated with the word 'sky'."
Sky has already had a run-in with Microsoft, over the name of the latter’s cloud storage service. That was previously known as SkyDrive, but in response to a court case from the broadcaster Microsoft changed its name to OneDrive.
The Skype case had been an attempt to challenge a ruling by the EU in 2005, which said that Skype’s branding was too similar to Sky for it to be given a trademark in the continent. Microsoft lost the re-launched case, but says that it is planning to appeal.
"The case was not a legal challenge to Skype's use of the mark, it was only against the registration," a Microsoft spokesperson told the BBC. "We're confident that no confusion exists between these brands and services and will appeal. This decision does not require us to alter product names in any way."
Though Sky could now theoretically pursue Microsoft for money for using the name, its reaction to the case did not seem to indicate that it would. It simply said that it had noted the decision and that it was part of a “long-running dispute with Skype”.
Sky previously took US company Livescribe to court over a smartpen that was known as “Sky Wifi”. The broadcaster succeeded in having the pen’s name changed in the UK, where it is now known “Livescribe Wifi”.
Join our commenting forum
Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies
Comments