Clickable link to the Bolt homepage: https://bolt.co/
I always find it annoying when the blog company logo doesn't bring you back to the company's homepage.
Dear Instagram
21–30 of 132 posts
Re: Dear Instagram
#22I don't see a trademark claim for the name Bolt on their website. I bet, had they gotten one, they would have an easier time defending the name. It'll be interesting to see how this plays out.
Claiming a trademark is distinct from registering a trademark. You can claim a trademark by just saying "this is our trademark." That will typically be done with the "TM" symbol. Registering a trademark means you applied with the USPTO to get a registered trademark, and it was granted.
You are correct in that they don't make an explicit claim, but I'm not sure if trademark law actually requires you to do that. It would certainly make everything less messy.
Re: Dear Instagram
#23I hope they change the name. Since Instagram is owned by Facebook and Facebook has launched Slingshot, a Snapchat rival, I'm wondering why they need another one?
With acquisitions, Facebook has generally left the acquired company mostly alone (if it's big and successful already). Instagram, Occulus and WhatsApp as examples. Instagram competes with Facebook in some ways, too, but it's still separate. Their goal is more data, not less competition.
Is collecting data the goal, or simply diversification?
My theory is that Facebook (the company) is preparing for the day when Facebook (the website) goes the way of Friendster and Myspace, and they're attempting to have other lines of business when that happens.
Re: Dear Instagram
#24> Imagine how it would have felt if Google or Apple or Facebook had launched a photo-sharing app called Instagram in 2011.
"Bolt" is a short, common word. "Instagram" is not (it's also more descriptive.)
Unfortunately, the days of naming products desirable things like "bolt," and being able to defend them, legally or not, are over.
The strange-made-up-word naming trend is annoying, but at least you're guaranteed a name no one else wants.
Re: Dear Instagram
#25Clickable link to the Bolt homepage: https://bolt.co/ I always find it annoying when the blog company logo doesn't bring you back to the company's homepage.
Me too, but this one does: the far right link. I had to click most of the links on the top to figure that out, though.
Re: Dear Instagram
#26I don't see a trademark claim for the name Bolt on their website. I bet, had they gotten one, they would have an easier time defending the name. It'll be interesting to see how this plays out.
> I don't see a trademark claim for the name Bolt on their website.
This is a very common misconception. Trademarks do not need to be registered in order to be defended (and even registering a trademark does not mean you can defend it).
Registering a trademark might have prevented this situation, but only if the Instagram lawyers took the time to search the USPTO database for marks matching "Bolt" (but even then, it's not a guarantee since (A) the search interface is pretty bad, and (B) they may have decided to go ahead and use it anyway).
Re: Dear Instagram
#27There was nothing named "Bolt" before Mr. Benton's product came around? Really?
Re: Dear Instagram
#28It's hard to have much sympathy when your app already has an identical name (and a very similar logo) to a mobile web browser launched four years earlier: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bolt_(web_browser)
Fortunately, Bolt browser no longer exists and names, especially four letter common words, can't be reserved forever.
Technically they can. I could register whatever sequence of letters I want provided they can act as a unique identifier for me, and are not in themselves descriptive. If I register 'Bolt' for dog-walking services this is not descriptive and provided I pay my renewal fees I can protect the word forever, and take action against those whose use of it confuses users (for example 'Bolt' for dog food) or takes unfair advantage of the reputation in my mark.
The presence of a word in a dictionary/its length has no bearing on its registrability as a trade mark.
Re: Dear Instagram
#29uspto.gov doesn't seem to allow linking directly to trademark filing but search for Bolt and the first two results appear to be from Bolt.co.
One was filed in the 22nd and the other on the 23rd July 2014. Seems like something they should have done earlier but I do feel for them none the less, potentially going up against FB's legal team seems less than fun.
>"IC 009. US 021 023 026 036 038. G & S: Computer application software for mobile phones, namely, software for use in text, voice and video communication between users. FIRST USE: 20131014. FIRST USE IN COMMERCE: 20131014"
Re: Dear Instagram
#30Earlier quoted context omitted.
What do you mean by "no intention of getting Instagram to actually do anything"? It seems like a pretty clear-cut public appeal to Instagram/Facebook to actually do something, which is to choose a different name before the product launches.. One has to hope/assume that Bolt has already tried private channels and met with little or no success, which is what forced them to go this public route.. Or are you implying the…
> What do you mean by "no intention of getting Instagram to actually do anything"? GP means with this blog post Bolt is using this opportunity not to appeal to Istangram, but to get free publicity for the company.
Or possibly, as is actually mentioned in the article under discussion, to lay groundwork for a later legal defense of their mark.