BSkyB Challenges Skype Trademark

Tucked into Skype’s IPO filing Monday was a listing of challenges to its trademark applications around the world, and it turns out that News Corp.’s British Sky Broadcasting, known as BSkyB and marketed as Sky, has a problem with 60 percent of the letters in the Internet telephony pioneer’s “bubble” logo. “The key contention in the dispute is that the brands ‘Sky’ and ‘Skype’ will be considered confusingly similar by members of the public,” a BSkyB spokesman said. “This was supported by consumer research conducted by Sky.” The EU recently ruled in BSkyB’s favor over the logo, and Skype plans to appeal. Notes TechEye.net: “As far as we know BSkyB is not filing any legal action against the Isle of Skye.”