Microsoft Will Rename SkyDrive to Avoid Trademark Dispute

Microsoft confirmed on Wednesday that it will not fight a July ruling by the England and Wales High Court in which it was found to have infringed on British Sky Broadcasting (BSkyB) trademarks for the term “Sky.” As a result, Microsoft has agreed to rebrand its SkyDrive cloud storage service with a new, as yet-unknown name.

“According to the settlement, Microsoft will not pursue its planned appeal of this decision and Sky will allow Microsoft to continue using the SkyDrive name for a reasonable period of time to allow for an orderly transition to a new brand,” a joint statement from BSkyB and Microsoft notes. “The agreement also contains financial and other terms, the details of which are confidential.”

BSkyB is a UK-based satellite broadcaster, Internet provider and telephone services firm. It does not make or sell any cloud-based storage services, nor is it clear how the firm could have obtained multiple trademarks for a term as general as “sky.” Its legal victory over Microsoft in early July was unexpected, and at the time Microsoft said it would appeal the decision. It’s unclear what changed.

SOURCE: windowsitpro.com