FFS
One sector that is apparently unaffected by the global financial crisis is corporate law. In the technology sector alone, armies of lawyers seethe in a state of permanent, rabid alert, ready to pounce on any conceivable indiscretion.
And if it's utterly frivolous, so much the better, it seems. One example of this is satellite TV giant BSkyB, which is opposing the registration of Skype as a trademark - by Skype itself, we must stress - on the grounds that the first three letters of it are SKY.
This bit of pointlessness was revealed in the filing for Skype's IPO (page 31) on Monday. The Internet communications company said it had successfully defended this opposition in Switzerland and Turkey, but the rest of Europe was proving more troublesome.
"However, on July 6, 2010, we received a negative first instance decision from the European Union trademark registry (OHIM) on BSkyB's opposition proceeding against the Skype bubble logo trademark application," said the filing.
"We intend to appeal this decision by submitting a notice of appeal to the OHIM Board of Appeal, and if necessary to the General Court at the Court of Justice of the European Community. If these oppositions to our application for trademark registration are ultimately successful, it will be more difficult for us to prevent third parties from using the Skype brand without our permission, which may have a material adverse effect on our business.
"Moreover, a successful opposition to our application in one or more countries might encourage BSkyB or other third parties to make additional oppositions or commence trademark infringement proceedings."
Reuters managed to get a comment from BSkyB on the matter: "The key contention in the dispute is that the brands 'Sky' and 'Skype' will be considered confusingly similar by members of the public. This was supported by consumer research conducted by Sky."
Now, we don't know about you, but we've managed to negotiate this minefield pretty effortlessly so far. Not once have we scratched our head wondering why Skype suddenly has its own news channel or questioned why eBay is selling off Rupert Murdoch's TV company, but maybe we're just super-sharp.
