It’s always dangerous to make accusations when your own house isn’t quite in order. Jim Courtney has uncovered a couple of very similar trademarks. PDT has a mark called VoIPVoice for their pioneering line of VoIP hardware. The logo Cisco displays on the CD for their Linksys product lines is very similar, right down to the words VoIP Voice, displayed in a nearly identical layout. The PDT logo is the one on the left.Â
Pretty similar, aren’t they? So much so that you might be able to make the argument that one brand dilutes the other. So who had the mark first? Well, it turns out that PDT has been selling under this brand for nearly five years, and Cisco is the newcomer.Â
I’m no lawyer. If I were PDT, though, I’d be seeking some legal advice.Â
If I were Cisco I’d be a little embarrassed about the self-righteous stance I’d taken with Apple… “The action we have taken today is about not using people’s property without permission”, said Cisco when asked about the Apple iPhone lawsuit.Â
Unh hunh? Sure.
Alec Saunders is the Vice President of Developer Relations for BlackBerry make Research in Motion. This is his personal blog, with his personal viewpoints. Prior to this Alec was the CEO and co-founder of Calliflower — the easiest way to hold a meeting, online, on a conference call, or on the go. A double-decade veteran of product management and marketing, he spent nine years at Microsoft where he helped launch Windows 95, the first two versions of Internet Explorer, the Universal Plug and Play initiative, the push into home markets, opt-in email marketing and what might well go down in history as the very first direct email list ever.
