Microsoft said it will seek to invalidate claims by a California company that has sued it for trademark infringement over the "Office Live" name.
Office Live LLC filed a trademark-infringement suit against Microsoft in the U.S. District Court of Central California in Los Angeles earlier this month over Microsoft's Web-based small business package of the same name. Microsoft began offering Office Live in November 2006. It provides customer relationship management, a Web presence, collaboration and accounting services to small businesses.
In a statement sent by e-mail, Microsoft spokesman Jack Evans said his company doubts the legitimacy of Office Live's trademark claim and will "vigorously defend" its legal position to maintain the name for its service.
"Clearly, if anyone is seeking to gain from the name of another company's products, it's the plaintiffs in this case," he said.
According to court papers, Office Live, in North Hollywood, California, is seeking damages and an injunction to stop Microsoft from using the Office Live name.
Microsoft branded its Office Live service as part of a larger hosted services plan that has been given the "Live" moniker. However, most of the other offerings in that strategy are branded as "Windows Live" services, such as Windows Live Messenger, Windows Live Search and Windows Live Mail.
The company Office Live provides Web-enabled marketing, lead generation and virtual office services to professionals, and free marketing advice to consumers, according to its Web site. It also maintains the following Web sites: lawofficelive.com, autoofficelive.com, realtorsofficelive.com, doctorsofficelive.com, accountantsofficelive.com and psychologistsofficelive.com.
Office Live said it registered to trademark the "Office Live" name in 2002. It originally filed suit against Microsoft over the trademark in December 2006, but the case was put on hold so the companies could negotiate a settlement. When one was not reached, Office Live moved forward with its lawsuit against the software vendor.
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Computerworld Live Podcast #97: The Future of Enterprise Networking 25/07/2008 09:45:36
This week CW Live chats with Mark Thompson, global sales and marketing manager for HP ProCurve, on the future of the enterprise networking. Mark discusses the trends we can expect to see in the near future and how the right infrastructure can ensure your enterprise network is secure. - +
Computerworld Live Podcast #96: Security at the Edge 11/06/2008 09:22:22
CW Live speaks with Amol Mitra, HP ProCurve Director of Marketing for Asia Pacific and Japan. Today's topic: how enterprises are starting to shift away from simply controlling security via server logins, firewalls and moving to more adaptive security frameworks. - +
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This week we look at sustainability and the development of multicore technologies to build multi-petascale systems. - +
IT Security Edition #11: How to poison the Storm botnet 01/05/2008 08:51:55
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IT Security Edition #10: Cyber-battles fought and won 24/04/2008 11:09:47
Vendors bow to end user pressure to improve product security, and we take a look at the latest concepts shaping the cyber-battlefield of the future.
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Making the Business Case for IT Consolidation
IT executives face the need to improve service delivery with limited resource increases. Two common strategies for achieving this are network and systems management tools and datacenter consolidation. Read on to discover how you can make a strong business case for IT Consolidation.
Buying Guides
Buying Guides
