The
US Patent and Trademark Office has refused to allow
Dell to trademark the term
"
cloud computing".
This follows objections from rivals who claimed
the term was too generic to warrant trademark protection.
Dell's trademark application was filed in March 2007 to protect
its Cloud Computing Solutions. The US Patent and Trademark Office
(USPTO) initially issued a "notice of allowance" in July 2008.
The application met with almost instant objection. It was
referred back for examination a month later, before being
turned down by the USPTO.
Mike Lynd, intellectual property expert and partner at Marks
& Clerk, the patent and trademark lawyers, said: "It is no
surprise Dell's trademark application was turned down by the
USPTO.
"In a case such as this, it would be difficult to convince the
Office that cloud computing is anything but generic in an appeal.
Had this trademark been allowed, it would have given Dell a
monopoly over a term clearly in descriptive use. What is
surprising, however, is how long it has taken for this application
to be rejected."
He said the concept of reaching into an internet "cloud" for
services instead of installing traditional applications on a PC
could refer to almost any dotcom software. Google's programs are
frequently described in this manner, for instance.
Dell's attempt to trademark the term "cloud computing" faced
difficulty from the start. The application was originally turned
down by the USPTO because it was similar to an existing trademark
registered by software company CloudSource.
But the CloudSource trademark was subsequently cancelled and
Dell's application allowed to proceed.
Lynd said: "The CloudSource trademark offers an example of the
kind of branding Dell could now adopt for its own cloud computing
services. It could brand its solutions to make clear that they are
based on cloud computing technology without laying claim to the
process itself."
If Dell had been successful in its original trademark attempt,
the trademark could have only been enforced in the US market.
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