Citing trademark issues, Microsoft is demanding that software maker Savvysoft drop “Excel” from the name of its TurboExcel software product. But Savvysoft claims the the larger company does not own the rights to the name.
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 First “Windows,” now “Excel.” New York City-based software company Savvysoft says Microsoft has demanded that it drop the name Excel from its TurboExcel product, which makes Microsoft’s Excel portable to other systems like Linux. Trouble is, Microsoft does not yet own the trademark to the name “Excel.”The case sounds similar to Microsoft’s gaffe earlier this year over its “Windows” trademark. What began with the usual cease-and-desist letter sent to an upstart firm, resulted with egg on Microsoft’s face over the management of its trademarks. The world’s largest software maker ended up offering a settlement.Stop Linux Savvysoft unveiled its TurboExcel product in June of this year. It is designed to speed up Microsoft’s Excel, but more importantly it allows users to migrate Excel to other operating systems, such as Linux.”We received a letter from Microsoft inviting us to become one of their partners,” said Savvysoft founder Rich Tanenbaum. “But what was weird is that other partners, who I expect aren’t being threatened with trademark lawsuits, also have the name Excel in their product names,” he told NewsFactor.The difference between those companies and Savvysoft, says Tanenbaum, is the Linux connection. He suspects Microsoft is targeting Savvysoft because it wants to suppress a product that might help a customer switch to Linux. The small software company says it would cost more than US$100,000 to change the TurboExcel name. Never Heard From Since So far so good for Microsoft. But Savvysoft says Microsoft does not own the “Excel” name. According to the United States Trademark and Patent Web site, Microsoft has been using “Excel” since 1985. But it only applied for the trademark on April 12th of this year.”I doubt the application has even made it in front of an examiner at the trademark office yet, so technically they’re going after us without even owning the name,” Tanenbaum added. He says he has already contacted the attorney who represented Lindows, now named Linspire, in its trademark case over the “Windows” name.It may be no slam-dunk for Microsoft to legally acquire the Excel trademark. A New Mexico-based provider of software tools to industrial companies called Excel Software went into business just before the Excel spreadsheet program was marketed back in 1985. According to Trademark and Patent office rules, Microsoft would have to show that it used the name first. |
