ITinfo: Microsoft Trademark Infringement Sued in Small Claims Court

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Entrepreneur Sues Microsoft

Who owns the trademark "Pocket PC"?

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Microsoft Trademark Infringement Sued in Small Claims Court

by Dave Murphy
ISSN 1535-3613

Ken Belanger is suing Microsoft before a small claims commissioner in San Francisco, California over a trademark infringement. On February 22d Belanger hopes to prove that Microsoft illegally tagged the name "Pocket PC" to it's handheld computer operating system and to establish his legal right to the domain pocketpc.com. The most Belanger can win in this court is $5,000; however, by arguing the issue in this venue, he hopes to avoid directly confronting Microsoft's stable of highly-paid, first-rate lawyers.

In 1985 Belanger began selling a gag gift called the Pocket PC that is a spoof on the IT industry's affinity for small computers. Belanger's Pocket PC is a plastic poker chip that bears a unique serial number.

Dave's Opinion

I think there's no end to the arguments people can come up with. Belanger may base his argument on his holding a "common-law" trademark based on the very specific name he chose for his commercial product that has been sold in California. Although I haven't heard all of Belanger's details and none of Microsoft's, I think it would be a hoot if he wins.

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http://itrain.org/itinfo/2002/it020114.html
updated January 14, 2002