University of Texas pursues makers of iTexas app for violation of “Texas” trademark

No one should fault a company for protecting its trademark whether in the real world or on the App Store, but the University of Texas has taken things too far, trying to get their former students to pull the useful iTexas app from iTunes because the University claims that it infringes on their trademark on Texas.

iTexas is a free app released by Mutual Mobile that allows students to access their class schedule, search the UT directory, check out their grades, look at the day’s cafeteria menus and more. It sounds like a must-have app for iPhone-toting UT students, and while Mutual Mobile has had complaints from the university before — namely, when the app was called “UT Directory” and used the school colors in the design scheme — they were quick to rename the application and address the concerns.

You’d think that would end the problem, but now the University of Texas is claiming that because iTexas uses the word “Texas” in the App Name, it is too “confusingly similar to [UT's] Texas [trademark].”

Look, this is just totally absurd in every detail: from the way the University of Texas is gunning for a company for releasing a totally free app with obvious utility to the majority of their students, to the fact that UT got a trademark on a State name in the first place.

DON'T MISS
Taiwanese Company Sells They Own The iPad Name In China, Sues Apple For Damages

Perhaps Techdirt said it best: “Lesson learned. Don’t try to make life better for UT students without first paying the University.”

11 comments »

About the author

John Brownlee is news editor here at Cult of Mac, and has also written about a lot of things for a lot of different places, including Wired, Playboy, Boing Boing, Popular Mechanics, Gizmodo, Kotaku, Lifehacker, AMC, Geek and the Consumerist. He lives in Cambridge with his charming inamorata and a tiny budgerigar punningly christened after Nabokov's most famous pervert. You can follow him here on Twitter.

(sorry, you need Javascript to see this e-mail address)| Read more posts by John Brownlee.

Posted in iPhone Apps, News |

http://ihbs.co.uk Ben
that is just simply retarded. Unless the university has its own official app, what is there to confuse? I doubt any of the students are going to walk into their iphones claiming that they thought it was a university, or walk into the campus and ask where all the apps and photos they had the other day have gone
http://www.campusbyte.com Jay Willingham – CampusByte
As a UT student this surprises me. I don’t have the iTexas app, but I have a feeling that UT is pursuing this because they recently released their own iPhone app.
Cameron
No, I think UT has a case here. Since the app is specifically UT-based, They could argue that users could be confused and think the app is an official UT app. Which it’s not.
I’m sure that “Texas” trademark is only for instances where “Texas” refers to an institution.
Shane
I suggest the use of this app instead:
http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/sooner-sports/id333206556?mt=8
Boomer Sooner! :D
William Thomas
As someone who has recently been subject to a similar trademark case, I really to feel sorry for the authors of iTexas.
It would appear that just about any word (at least here in the UK) can be trademarked (even a geographical area like the ‘Thames Valley’). Anyone with enough money (it would seem) can ‘ask’ smaller companies to change their name, with little or no way of the smaller company seeking recourse.
I really think trademark law needs to be reformed in the UK (probably the US to). Only new words that people think-up should be trademark-able. and/or a company logo’s. After these are original ideas and should be duly protected under the law.
As a result of the case I have had to temporarily cease trading.
Good luck iTexas team…
bubbakush
seems like crap that they can trade mark “texas” i mean thats a general term.
Yohsemmiti Sham
As long as the football team does well, that’s all that really matters, certainly not the welfare of the students or the professors.
Marian
To be fair, I can see why UT might have a problem with this. It’s not the name, but in case the app provides some misinformation, the user might blame the UT for missing a class or something. What they should is to acquire or hire the company and officially support the app.
imajoebob
Do you hear hat rumbling noise? It’s not a herd of Longhorns on the move, it’s a stampede of lawyers wanting to represent Mutual Mobile! They can’t wait to countersue. Overly simplified, you cannot trademark a “generic-type” name. You can trademark the specific use of the name, but not the word. So while I can’t start selling University of Texas brand pet food, I can market Texas Dawgâ„¢ food. Really outrageous is the school claiming any preemptory right to “Texas” at all. Heck, Texas A&M has been around longer than UT!
The simplest solution would be to protect the information with a copyright – if they’re this stupid to begin with they may not have already. Or have some fun and have your IT students create code that recognizes iTexas and provides (obviously) bogus info!
Charli
Why am I not shocked that this is happening in Texas, home of the Eastern District (which is just wacked on IP)
itsahme
I go to UT and I’ve used both apps. The “official” app essentially sucks; you can’t access anything such as your current schedule or information about classes or location of your specific classes, and thus accessing egradebook is non-existent as is not the case with iTexas.