Google Nexus One Hits Another Roadblock
HTC has already come under fire from Apple, which this month filed a patent infringement suit against the Taiwanese phone maker claiming that its smartphones, including the Google Android-based Nexus One.
And now, the Nexus One has been saddled with another setback as Google was denied a trademark application for the Nexus One's name.
The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office rejected Google's application for the rights to the Nexus One name due to a "likelihood of confusion" with a trademark for a related telecommunications device, according to reports from RedOrbit. That approved trademark belongs to Oregon-based Integra Telecom and refers it its Nexus T1 service. Integra Telecom has used the Nexus name as far back as 2008.
The Wall Street Journal has reported that Google plans to "continue to claim rights to the Nexus One trademark in the United States" and will appeal the decision and supply additional evidence in a bid to sway the Trademark Office's decision.
This isn't the first time the Nexus One name was dealt a blow. When the device was released in January, the estate of author Philip K. Dick challenged the Nexus name as it was used for the androids in Dick's novel Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep, the book that was adapted into the film Bladerunner, according to TG Daily.
The Nexus One trademark woes come as Nexus One maker and Google Android wunderkind HTC is embroiled in a patent infringement lawsuit with Apple, which claims that HTC has copied 20 Apple patents related to the Apple iPhone.
HTC, however, has vowed to fight the good fight. HTC will defend itself against Apples patent infringement claims. "HTC disagrees with Apple's actions and will fully defend itself," HTC CEO Peter Chou said in a statement this week. "HTC strongly advocates intellectual property protection and will continue to respect other innovators and their technologies as we have always done, but we will continue to embrace competition through our own innovation as a healthy way for consumers to get the best mobile experience possible."
Apple filed concurrent patent infringement lawsuits against HTC on March 2 with the U.S. International Trade Commission (ITC) and in U.S. District Court in Delaware. Apple's suit claims that HTC infringed upon patents related to the touch-screen user interface, underlying architecture and hardware of the Apple iPhone.
Apple's patent infringement suit against HTC likely centers around the increasing popularity of the Nexus One, since the HTC-built Google Android-based smartphone features multi-touch capabilities similar to that of the Apple iPhone.
The Nexus One made its debut on T-Mobile's network in January and quickly became a high-profile contender in the smartphone battle against the Apple iPhone. This week it was revealed that along with soon becoming available on AT&T's networks, the Nexus One may also be available from Sprint soon.