X
Tech

RIM loses crucial 'BBX' trademark in court injunction

Research in Motion, seemingly at the last minute, changed the name of its 'BBX' operating system after it lost a trademark case in court.
Written by Zack Whittaker, Contributor

Research in Motion has lost its trademark case against Basis International, after the smartphone giant had pinned its future hopes and dreams on a name that was already taken.

The BlackBerry maker had hoped to use the 'BBX' trademark in its future BlackBerry operating systems, but quickly backtracked after the court issued its ruling.

A U.S. federal court in Albuquerque, NM, issued the injunction preventing RIM from using the 'BBX' trademark at its upcoming DevCon conference, where the name of the new BlackBerry operating system was thought to have been formally announced.

A tweet announced the change, with RIM now calling its upcoming mobile operating system 'BlackBerry 10'.

In a statement to Reuters, the company said:

"RIM doesn't typically comment on pending litigation, however RIM has already unveiled a new brand name for its next generation mobile platform. As announced at DevCon Asia, RIM plans to use the 'BlackBerry 10' brand name for its next generation mobile platform".

Scrubs moment aside, with mental imagery of junior lackeys frantically changing PowerPoint slides from the then-'BBX' trademark, the ruling must have come as little surprise to the company.

RIM had refused to back down from using the 'BBX' trademark at its upcoming conference, Basis said.

The company has a habit of "ignore, and hope it will go away", particularly in the past year. At least one of my colleagues is optimistic about RIM's future. I am not so much.

It is thought the first QNX-based BlackBerry smartphones will be out in the first quarter of 2012.

Related:

Editorial standards