Sun trademark case resumes

Reseller Sun Data will sue Sun Microsystems over trademark infringement after the two companies failed to settle their dispute out of court.

Sun Data, a US systems provider and leasing company, filed the suit in December 1996. Sun Microsystems filed a countersuit alleging trademark infringement three days later. The court told the two companies to mediate but they could not agree and Sun Data is continuing its action.

Eric Prockow, chairman and CEO of Sun Data, said Sun Data was incorporated in 1976, before Sun Microsystems was founded in 1982.

?Sun Microsystems? use of a variety of marks, including the word Sun, will inevitably confuse customers into believing the two companies are associated or affiliated,? he stated. ?Such confusion is likely to impact our impartial position as a best-of-breed provider.?