Image Credit: Word Window
Small Business: Word Window resolves a Trade Mark dispute
Kate McKenzie from Northampton is an Inventor and business owner who has just resolved a Trade Mark dispute. Nine days before the product was due to go to market in July 2022, she received a letter from Microsoft which stated it opposed her Trade Mark. “It was basically a threat of opposition against the Trade Mark Word Windows. They weren’t happy about the Trade Mark, and they weren’t happy about the company name.”
Word Window
Kate was inspired to create the tool, as she struggled with reading at school due to dyslexia and her son was facing similar issues.
“It puts a little box around the word that you’re trying to read and creates a window that can open and close to isolate it. You can isolate the first letter of the word, a sound in the word, a prefix or a suffix.”
Microsoft Claims Infringement
“I’ve been in negotiations with Microsoft to try and resolve the situation and demonstrate that I’m not trying to infringe on their product or services – I’m just trying to develop literacy levels in the UK.”
Kate said it was surreal to be in a dispute with the global tech company.
“Although I was utterly devastated, my husband did see the funny side and said, ‘Don’t you think it’s quite funny that the giant of Microsoft has found you in Duston?’.”
The Result for Word Window
After the negotiating with Microsoft, Kate has changed her product name from Word Windows to Word Window. Packaging has been reprinted and the relevant affordable changes on her website have been made.
What this means for you
Entering a market where there is one or more large corporations who can afford to file suits to protect their IP can be daunting. Especially when they could challenge you an SME. However, our Professional team can work with you to ensure you are moving towards entering the market without any worry of infringement. For example, we can help by conducting Freedom-to-Operate searches on Patents or Trade Mark clearance search.
Interested in learning more about these services?
Contact us here
