Intellectual Property Law

Why is RIM Opposing Twitter's Trademark Application?

By Cynthia Brumfield

Twitter is a hot topic these days and a new Internet law blog I've discovered, Internet Cases, has this item from last week suggesting that Twitter may not end up with its trademarked name. Twitter, Inc. filed an application in April 2007 to register the trademark TWITTER with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office but Research in Motion, the seemingly unstoppable Blackberry maker, has thrown up some roadblocks to Twitter's trademark.

In February, Twitter's application was published for opposition, giving parties the opportunity to object to the trademark. On March 14, 2008, RIM filed an extension of time to oppose the TWITTER application.

Blogger-attorney Evan Brown searched for Twitter-related marks that RIM may own and found none. So it's a mystery why RIM thinks it owns the Twitter name or objects to the Twitter application. A quick scan of the trademark description doesn't seem to send up any red flags.

Granted, a lot of folks think that Twitter is a rival for the Blackberry's text-oriented service and some folks think RIM should just buy the hot start-up.

I've sent emails to folks at both Twitter and RIM to see if they can shed light on the matter and I'll keep you posted if I hear back.

Full post as published by IP Democracy on April 08, 2008 (boomark / email).