Livescribe And Sky Settle Trademark Spat With Rebranded WiFi Pen

Livescribe and BSkyB have settled their differences in Europe, after the satellite telecoms company took issue with the name of the Sky WiFi smartpen launched last year. British Sky Broadcasting Group (BSkyB) had filed a trademark complaint about the wirelessly-enabled notetaking system – which we reviewed back in October - forcing Livescribe to pull it from shelves while the two companies argued. Now, the case has been settled, but only with Livescribe agreeing to rebrand the pen itself.

From March 1, 2013, the gadget will be known as the Livescribe WiFi Smartpen, dropping the contentious "Sky" name altogether. The name change will only take effect in the European Union; elsewhere, the smartpen will continue to be branded as "Sky", such as in the US.

The decision, although a welcome clear-out of the litigation, is likely to have a significant impact on Livescribe's financial performance with the smartpen. BSkyB has allowed the company to sell off existing stock already in the market in the EU, branded Sky, but the company has also been forced to recall "a quantity of stock" bearing the trademark.

"While Livescribe does not offer any goods or services similar to those of Sky and had no intention of infringing Sky's rights," a company spokesperson said in a statement, "Livescribe is pleased to reach a settlement with British Sky Broadcasting." Back at the launch of the smartpen in the UK last year, Livescribe told SlashGear that they didn't expect the similarities in branding to cause an issue because the products on offer differed so considerably.