How powerful is Rupert Murdoch? Now he claims he owns the sky.
Reuters reports that BSkyB, which is part owned by Murdoch's News Corporation, has challenged registration of the trademark Skype claiming it sounds too much like BSkyB.
It quotes a News Corp spokesman saying: "The key contention in the dispute is that the brands 'Sky' and 'Skype' will be considered confusingly similar by members of the public. This was supported by consumer research conducted by Sky."
The problem for Skype is that in July, the European Union's trademark registration office ruled in favour of BSkyB's objection to the Skype bubble logo claiming it was confusing consumers. Go figure!
But lawyers have told The Guardian there are ways around it including the prospect of Skype entering some sort of licensing agreement with BSkyB to use the name.
If that's right, Rupert Murdoch has just found a way to squeeze money out of another business.
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