goliath
Amazon is flexing its muscles trying to get social collaboration startup Amazee to give up its name. There is already an active discussion on the web and the print media in the USA, Germany, Switzerland and the UK, e.g:
- Amazon Wants To Bully Amazee Into Changing Its Name
- Would You Confuse Amazee With Amazon?
- Tree huggers will confuse shoppers
- Der Online-Gigant gegen das kleine Startup
- Amazon verklagt junge Schweizer Firma
- Amazon klagt gegen Amazee
This is a David vs. Goliath battle, even if the cynics say Amazee is getting publicity out of this. The fact of the matter is that a large company is using its strength to bully a small company who is not even a competitor. One can't help but wonder what exactly is Amazon hoping to get out of this other than bad publicity?
Legal experts say that trademark laws require companies to "actively" defend their trade marks. If this is the real explanation behind what Amazon is doing, then there is something seriously wrong with these laws. It is time the legislators in most countries start looking into how a company can trademark the name of a river that has existed for hundreds of years before the company chose it as its name and how it can use the grabbed name of this river to bully a company that is not competing with it.
In the meantime I will start visting my local bookstore more often as suggested by Gregory Gerhardt the CEO of Amazee in his blog.
Support Amazee by blogging about this, join the Amazee vs. Amazon project and vote on whether you would confuse Amazee with Amazon.
