Motorola hit with trademark suit just before Xoom launch
By IANSFriday, February 25, 2011
NEW YORK - Just as Motorola Mobility Inc. was all ready to launch its Xoom tablet in the United States this week, it has been hit with a trademark lawsuit over the tablet name.
Motorola may now have to wait or find another name for the Xoom which is being touted as an early challenger to Apple’s iPad.
San Francisco-based Xoom Corporation, which is a global money transfer service, spoiled the launch party for Motorola Mobility Inc. by disputing the name of the tablet in a trademark suit filed Wednesday.
In its suit filed by the famous firm Morgan, Lewis & Bockius LLP in the US District Court for the Northern District of California, Xoom has said that the name Xoom is its trademark and it has been using it in its website since 2003.
The suit seeks permanent injunction against Motorola Mobility Inc. for calling its tablet Xoom and treble damages pending an immediate “temporary restraining order and/or preliminary injunction,” according to the International Business Times.
“Through this long online use accessible via computer and mobile devices, Xoom’s trade name and the XOOM products have become associated exclusively with Xoom. Until [the] defendants’ adoption of the Xoom brand without authorization from Xoom, Xoom to its knowledge was the only entity using the name or mark for online product offerings,” the International Business Times quoted the San Francisco company as saying in its trademark suit.
Apple had faced a similar situation after it launched iPhone in 2007 when the Cupertino-based technology giant was dragged to court by Toronto-based Comwave Telecom over violation of its trademark ‘iPhone.’
After a year-long legal battle, Apple reached a deal with Comwave to get the sole rights to use ‘iPhone’ in Canada.
