Meta Told To Stop Using Threads Name By Company That Owns UK Trademark (businessinsider.com) 60
Pete Syme reports via Insider: A British software company is giving Meta 30 days to stop using the name Threads in the UK because it owns the trademark. Threads Software Limited says its lawyers wrote to the Facebook and Instagram parent company on Monday. If Meta doesn't stop using the name Threads, Threads Software Limited says it will seek an injunction from the courts.
The British company trademarked Threads in 2012 for its intelligent messaging hub, which can store a company's emails, tweets, and voice over internet protocol phone calls in a cloud database. In a press release, it said it had declined the four offers that Meta's lawyers made to purchase its domain name "threads.app." Then when Meta launched Threads, its social media app designed to compete with Elon Musk's X, the British company says it was removed from Facebook. John Yardley, the managing director of Threads Software Limited, said the business "faces a serious threat from one of the largest technology companies in the world."
"We recognize that this is a classic 'David and Goliath' battle with Meta," said Yardley. "And whilst they may think they can use whatever name they want, that does not give them the right to use the Threads brand name."
The British company trademarked Threads in 2012 for its intelligent messaging hub, which can store a company's emails, tweets, and voice over internet protocol phone calls in a cloud database. In a press release, it said it had declined the four offers that Meta's lawyers made to purchase its domain name "threads.app." Then when Meta launched Threads, its social media app designed to compete with Elon Musk's X, the British company says it was removed from Facebook. John Yardley, the managing director of Threads Software Limited, said the business "faces a serious threat from one of the largest technology companies in the world."
"We recognize that this is a classic 'David and Goliath' battle with Meta," said Yardley. "And whilst they may think they can use whatever name they want, that does not give them the right to use the Threads brand name."
ISDN (Score:2)
Twitter (Score:2)
Re: Twitter (Score:3)
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It's a pain, but you can use non-smart quotes by holding your finger down on the screen for a second,
Cool. When did Macs get touch-screens? It's about time.
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See?
Re: Twitter (Score:4, Insightful)
"Smart" quote are like "smart" TVs, "smart" meters etc. You can pretty much guarantee anything labelled as "smart" will be as dumb as a box of rocks.
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Don't you speak Maori ? You insensitive clod :)
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Or better yet, Meta could rename it to "Model E" just to troll Musk.
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Wouldn't that be trolling Ford? ie the ones who stopped Tesla using 'E'. (So Musk used 3 instead. So nerdy. )
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That was the joke. Meta might be able to get permission from Ford to use it, since they're obviously not in the car business. There are also some who would say Ford isn't really in the car business lately, either, but I digress. Then perhaps Meta could have their own Sosumi moment [wikipedia.org] and release a car anyway.
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Meta might be able to get permission from Ford to use it, since they're obviously not in the car business
Because they're not in the car business, they don't need permission from Ford to use it.
First time considering trademarks, eh?
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How about icantbelieveitsnottwitter.com?
Re:Twitter (Score:4, Funny)
The 'X' is pronounced the same way as 'sh'.
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Too bad that's also trademarked, by a much bigger owner than.. X.
If you want to destroy my sweater (Score:5, Insightful)
It was a dumb name anyway and I'm sure there's a better name which aptly describes the kind of content you'll find on a micro-blogging service. I propose they rename it to "Latrine".
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Out of curiosity, checked out https://www.xitter.com/ [xitter.com]
Re: If you want to destroy my sweater (Score:2)
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You started a very silly thread on this forum.
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Kind of a shitty name, but fitting.
Twitter (Score:2)
What's old is new. (Score:2)
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Gmail was named googlemail in Germany due to a previously existing trademark.
Intentionally disruptive name (Score:5, Insightful)
We use the word threads to talk about email, forums and chat. FB intentionally chose this name in order to throw a wrench (or spanner) into popular vernacular. It's quite manipulative and deeply troubling behavior that is all too common with tech companies.
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The company attempting to appropriate the term Metaverse?
Zuckbucks buy even more than complicit judges.
Re: Intentionally disruptive name (Score:2)
App is for application (Score:2)
What was "app" used for in computing, other than as a clipping of "application"?
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It's one of many computing metaphors. Even the term "cloud computing" is a metaphor, albeit a very stupid one.
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It's one of many computing metaphors.
No, my point is that it's not, or rather it didn't start that way. People used the word "thread" to refer to the topic/theme of a conversation when a "computer" was still a person doing sums with pen and paper. It makes even less sense than granting a trademark for the word "windows".
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AFAIK, you can't trademark words. You can copyright & trademark fonts & graphical arrangements of letters & images but not the words/letters themselves.
Wow. You post this on an article literally about a trademark on a word. Sure, you don't get the entire use of a word, you only get it for a particular product. In this case messaging.
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Even the term "cloud computing" is a metaphor
It describes how firm and stable platform it is, with well-defined edges.
Threadz (Score:2)
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Boring name. Needs to be Thr3dz.
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No spanner or wrench has been thrown. You can keep using the word thread generically as much as you want.
Not without ambiguity and confusing, which is the point.
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Not without ambiguity and confusing, which is the point.
There's no extra confusion or ambiguity. English language interpretation depends on a context of a conversation. It's only ambiguous or confusing if you can't speak properly. This doesn't even just apply to product names or marketing, but the language as a whole.
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It's about as nefarious as naming your product "windows"!
It would be ironic and darkly funny if... (Score:4, Interesting)
If the company that changed their name to "Meta" went to court and argued that "Threads" shouldn't be trademark-able because it's a common word.
Re:It would be ironic and darkly funny if... (Score:5, Funny)
That would be quite meta.
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Whoa. Mind BLOWN.
Meta (Score:2)
The only company you can get a lot of entertainment out of without ever using any of their products.
Sorry, Haberdashers (Score:3)
Your guilds and ancient claims are invalid.
First thought on this (Score:2)
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Meta wouldn't be infringing on a clothing brand. It has to be something also in IT for a conflict of trademark to arise.
Gossamer Threads (Score:2)
There use to be or still is a Vancouver Canada based web company that used the name Gossamer Threads for their company/forum software.
Hungry Jacks? (Score:2)
In case anyone has eaten there before, welcome to Queensland, Australia. And yes there's a reason their logo looks exactly like the one from Burger King.
This won't end well for Meta in the UK, but likewise it won't impact the rest of the world. The UK will just get a special app and website redirect to a different name (though I do like the suggestion above to call it Latrine).
Ah, too funny (Score:1)
Been enjoying the whole show.
2020 - "private companies can do whatever they want - you know, our traditional leftist value!"
2022 - "Elon did what???"
2023 - "Threaded mastadons will be a thing!!!! Dang it!!!" {looking increasingly more crazed}
Now this ... lol!
If only there were some sort of social media place where we could discuss government overreach and over-regulation ...
The small guys will lose (Score:2)
Exactly like these guys lost their name [portlandfoodanddrink.com].
Because the big guys with enough money can do what they want and appropriate what they want with total impunity.
Arrogance or Incompetence? Both? (Score:1)
Given the nature of tech bros, my money is on arrogance as the cause but, tech bros are also really spoiled so it could also just be incompetence.