Motorola is dealing with a minor legal issue over the branding of its tablet device. An online payment company Xoom Corporation shares the same name as the tablet and is apparently not happy about it. The payment company hired the law firm of Morgan, Lewis & Bockius and filed a trademark suit in U.S. District court against Motorola Mobility. Xoom Corporation is not holding back and is asking for a temporary restraining order and/or preliminary injunction as well as a permanent injunction against Motorola’s Xoom tablet. The payment company is also asking for “treble” damages.
Motorola filed its own registration for the Xoom trademark, presumably because it thought its mobile tablet does not overlap with an online payment service. Two companies can trademark the same name as long as the products or services are for separate industries. That is why yo can have Dominos Pizza and the close-sound Domino Sugar. Companies have a right to defend their trademark and to let the court decide whether the Xoom tablet could be confused with the Xoom payment service. If it does, the handset manufacturer will most likely have to pay some money to Xoom Corporation and then move on with their tablet plans.