BSkyB and Microsoft have reached a settlement over the use of the ‘Sky’ mark in Microsoft’s Sky Drive product.
In June, High Court Judge Mrs Justice Asplin issued a judgment holding that Microsoft’s use of the name SkyDrive infringed Sky’s rights in the ‘Sky’ mark.
Under the settlement, Microsoft will not pursue its planned appeal of this decision and Sky will allow Microsoft to continue using the SkyDrive name for a reasonable period of time to allow for an orderly transition to a new brand.
The terms of the agreement also indicates a financial settlement, the details of which have not been released.
“We are pleased to have reached a settlement after Microsoft agreed not to appeal the trade mark infringement judgment in relation to its SkyDrive service,” said Sky. “We will remain vigilant in protecting the Sky brand and will continue to take appropriate action against those companies who seek to use our trade mark without consent.”
Microsoft said, “We’re glad to have resolution of this naming dispute, and will continue to deliver the great service our hundreds of millions of customers expect, providing the best way to always have your files with you.”
Sky has held a series of trademarks incorporating the mark ‘Sky’ across channels and services. Between 2008 and 2011 it ran its own cloud-based storage service ‘Sky Store & Share’, which was discontinued in December 2011.
