Apparently companies that use the term “Cloud” in their names could face a legal battle to remove said word from their title from The Cloud Networks with the main reason being search engine optimisation activity pushes it to a higher spot on Google than The Cloud Networks Ltd.
Apparently hosted VoIP firm Cloudnet Telecommunications was forced to change their name to Birchills after high court legal action was taken by The Cloud Networks when they found the company was placed higher than The Cloud when people search the term “Cloud.”
Apparently The Cloud Networks sought a High Court injunction to halt Cloudnet passing themselves off as the WiFi Hotspot provider, and claimed ownership of the word “Cloud.”
The founder and chairman of Birchills Telecom, David Hill says, “We were told by The Cloud’s legal team to simply change our name in case The Cloud decided, at a later date, to sell telephone systems. To be asked to simply change our name is disingenuous as this is neither simple nor cheap to do and we are being asked to throw away the brand loyalty we have built up.”
Hill went on to say…“Some research on the Trade Mark registry reveals and there are literally hundreds of registered trade names including the word “cloud” in the telecommunications category and no doubt The Cloud is pursuing them too.”
Thus the VoIP Company had to change their name to Birchills Telecom and have notified their customers of the change.
Personally as a writer I can’t see how anyone can claim to own a particular word, as that particular word, whether it be “cloud” or otherwise, is part of the English language and thus belongs to all and not just one company. However when it comes to legal minds they appear to have a set of rules unto themselves.