SFR loses right to trademark 'texto'
Court rules that the word to describe an SMS text message is generic and cannot be owned exclusively by the mobile firm
THE FRENCH word texto is a part of everyday language and cannot be reserved as a trademark, a court has ruled.
Mobile phone giant SFR has been trying to sue a company in Marseille since early 2008 over the use of the word to promote SMS text message services.
SFR registered texto as a trademark in January 2001 and accused the firm, One Texto, of illegally using its intellectual property.
However the Tribunal de Grande Instance in Paris has now ruled that the word should not have been trademarked.
In a ruling published last week, the court said that texto was well-known in 2001 as a generic term to describe messages sent and received on a mobile phone.
As a result, SFR had no right to try reserving the word for its own exclusive commercial use. The mobile operator has been ordered to pay €10,000 to One Texto and the same amount again to its manager.
It must also removed any signs appearing next to the word in SFR advertising that might suggest the word is trademarked or owned under copyright.
An SFR spokesman said the company had yet to decide whether to appeal against the ruling.
