US rules against Dell claim to cloud computing

The US Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) has rejected Dell’s application to trademark the term ‘cloud computing’ following claims by rivals that the term is generic and undeserving of trademark protection.

The March 2007 application was filed to protect Dell’s branded Cloud Computing Solutions and the claim was initially allowed by the USPTO in July 2008.

A month later the application was referred back to the Office for examination before finally being turned down.

Mike Lynd, patent and trademark attorney and partner at US-based Marks & Clerk, said the rejection was no surprise.

“Had this trademark been allowed, it would have given Dell a monopoly over a term clearly in descriptive use. What is surprising, however, is how long it has taken for this application to be rejected,” he said.

The concept of reaching into an internet ‘cloud’ for services instead of installing traditional applications on a PC could refer to almost any dotcom software, Lynd said.

“Google’s programs are frequently described in this manner. If Dell wishes to protect its particular cloud computing solution it needs to give it a distinctive brand name and trademark instead.”

Lynd said the CloudSource trademark that was owned by software company CloudSource was an example of the kind of branding Dell could adopt for its own cloud computing services.

“It could brand its solutions to make clear they are based on cloud computing technology without laying claim to the process itself.”

The application was originally turned down by the USPTO because of its similarity to the CloudSource trademark. Then the CloudSource trademark was cancelled and Dell’s application proceeded.