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Dear Bolt.co, I truly wish you luck in your fight against Instagram. Name stealing is a rough game. I know because I have been traveling on Bolt buses for 8 ye

Dear Bolt.co, I truly wish you luck in your fight against Instagram. Name stealing is a rough game. I know because I have been traveling on Bolt buses for 8 years now (http://www.boltbus.com/ http://www.boltbus.com/). I know there is some confusion because you have basically the same symbol. Maybe there aren't too many ways to vary a lightning bolt shooting through an "O" in the word "Bolt" but I welcome you (and Instagram to try). Sincerely, A bus rider.

diminish 12y ago
and here's the cms called http://bolt.cm http://bolt.cm I'm curious who got this name earlier.
- ljf 12y ago
  And the media sharing forum: http://bolt.cd/ http://bolt.cd/
  - deaconblues 12y ago
    And the 2008 animated Disney movie: http://movies.disney.com/bolt http://movies.disney.com/bolt
- virtualSatai 12y ago
  Bolt.co registered 2010-07-21 Bolt.cm registered 2012-09-19 Bolt.cd earliest record 2011-01-04
- ujjwal_wadhawan 12y ago
  How many people remember bo.lt from 2011 ? https://www.facebook.com/getbolt https://www.facebook.com/getbolt
  - subpixel 12y ago
    And how many remember bolt.com from the dotcom bubble? https://web.archive.org/web/19981207004638/http://www.bolt.com/ https://web.archive.org/web/19981207004638/http://www.bolt.c...
- harrylepotter 12y ago
  Not to mention the javascript framework: http://boltjs.io/ http://boltjs.io/
aespinoza 12y ago
I think this is different. Instagram's Bolt & Bolt are both Apps. Which will be searched for in the same apps stores. Bolt Bus will definitely not be confused with the Bolt App.
- bhandziuk 12y ago
  Probably true. Though BoltBus does have an iTunes and Android app, too.
sheetjs 12y ago
I think you miss the problem here. There is very little confusion between BoltBus and Bolt.co in the sense that they are in completely different industries and the likelihood of confusion is low. As bolt.co is claiming, there are many people who appear to be confused between instagram's offering and the company's product (they are arguably in the same space and possibly competitors).
- bhandziuk 12y ago
  Yes, I suppose you're right. Though how big would one of these need to be for the other to care? I surely could not name my blanket company Microsoft and get away with it, right?
  - grabeh 12y ago
    The key issue is over whether or not the mark has a widespread reputation/is well-known. If I am able to show my mark has either, then if someone makes use of a similar/identical mark but for completely different services/goods then I can restrain that other party's use if I can show that their use takes unfair advantage of my mark. For example if Microsoft Combine Harvesters popped up, it would be relatively straightforward to argue that they are making use of the Microsoft mark for the sole purpose of attracting attention to its product, by effectively piggy-backing on the real Microsoft's reputation. Proving reputation is difficult but generally you will have to show substantial investment in marketing/advertising in the relevant territories. If I can't show reputation I am limited to actions for straight infringement (identical mark/identical services/goods) or confusion-based actions (similar mark/similar services/goods).
    - bhandziuk 12y ago
      Interesting. So what is Microsoft Combine Harvesters was founded before Microsoft Corporation yes the latter became larger faster? Even though Microsoft Corp is larger they were also later to the game. Can they try to get exclusive rights to Microsoft?
      - 12y ago
TheHippo 12y ago
The difference is that Instagram is trying to build a similar product with the same name, whereas the mentioned bus company is just a bus company that has a few stops in the United States. So most of the people living on this world will never even get chance to confuse the two of them.
- matthewmacleod 12y ago
  I don't really understand in what way this would be considered a similar product; aside from the fact it's a mobile app, they don't seem to overlap.
  - chris_wot 12y ago
    That is exactly what the problem is.
Smirnoff 12y ago
Instagram/Facebook is NOT going to do anything about the name. Just look at the history. Facebook launched an iOS app and called it "Paper." And guess what? There was a very popular app, which was called "Paper" too. From recent cases I only remember Microsoft to change their mind in regards to their "Metro" OS. However, even in that case Microsoft decided to back off because "Metro" was a big retailer that sold Microsoft's products, so bad blood could cause bottom line to take a hit.
- freehunter 12y ago
  They also were forced to rename Skydrive to Onedrive due to a lawsuit by the British broadcaster Sky.
Mc_Big_G 12y ago
Trademarks are classified by "Goods and Services". A bus company is clearly different from a mobile app. A mobile app (Instagram) is clearly the same as a mobile app (Bolt). For the purposes of trademarking, the similarity of a "mobile voice and messaging" app and a "mobile photo sharing" app is not quite as clear. I'm sure some lawyers would be happy to help clear it up. So, while I get your intention, that's not how trademarks work. If Bolt doesn't have a trademark, they should stop complaining.
bhouston 12y ago
The word Bolt always has to have the lighting bolt in the "O". Bolt (the Disney movie): http://cdnvideo.dolimg.com/cdn_assets/abd7aa3a4851f515796d9dc82ea263bdbfe62cfa.jpg http://cdnvideo.dolimg.com/cdn_assets/abd7aa3a4851f515796d9d... Bolt Browser: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bolt_(web_browser) http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bolt_(web_browser)

diminish 12y ago

and here's the cms called http://bolt.cm http://bolt.cm I'm curious who got this name earlier.

ljf 12y ago
And the media sharing forum: http://bolt.cd/ http://bolt.cd/
- deaconblues 12y ago
  And the 2008 animated Disney movie: http://movies.disney.com/bolt http://movies.disney.com/bolt
virtualSatai 12y ago
Bolt.co registered 2010-07-21 Bolt.cm registered 2012-09-19 Bolt.cd earliest record 2011-01-04
ujjwal_wadhawan 12y ago
How many people remember bo.lt from 2011 ? https://www.facebook.com/getbolt https://www.facebook.com/getbolt
- subpixel 12y ago
  And how many remember bolt.com from the dotcom bubble? https://web.archive.org/web/19981207004638/http://www.bolt.com/ https://web.archive.org/web/19981207004638/http://www.bolt.c...
harrylepotter 12y ago
Not to mention the javascript framework: http://boltjs.io/ http://boltjs.io/

aespinoza 12y ago

I think this is different. Instagram's Bolt & Bolt are both Apps. Which will be searched for in the same apps stores. Bolt Bus will definitely not be confused with the Bolt App.

bhandziuk 12y ago
Probably true. Though BoltBus does have an iTunes and Android app, too.

sheetjs 12y ago

I think you miss the problem here. There is very little confusion between BoltBus and Bolt.co in the sense that they are in completely different industries and the likelihood of confusion is low. As bolt.co is claiming, there are many people who appear to be confused between instagram's offering and the company's product (they are arguably in the same space and possibly competitors).

bhandziuk 12y ago
Yes, I suppose you're right. Though how big would one of these need to be for the other to care? I surely could not name my blanket company Microsoft and get away with it, right?
- grabeh 12y ago
  The key issue is over whether or not the mark has a widespread reputation/is well-known. If I am able to show my mark has either, then if someone makes use of a similar/identical mark but for completely different services/goods then I can restrain that other party's use if I can show that their use takes unfair advantage of my mark. For example if Microsoft Combine Harvesters popped up, it would be relatively straightforward to argue that they are making use of the Microsoft mark for the sole purpose of attracting attention to its product, by effectively piggy-backing on the real Microsoft's reputation. Proving reputation is difficult but generally you will have to show substantial investment in marketing/advertising in the relevant territories. If I can't show reputation I am limited to actions for straight infringement (identical mark/identical services/goods) or confusion-based actions (similar mark/similar services/goods).
  - bhandziuk 12y ago
    Interesting. So what is Microsoft Combine Harvesters was founded before Microsoft Corporation yes the latter became larger faster? Even though Microsoft Corp is larger they were also later to the game. Can they try to get exclusive rights to Microsoft?
    - 12y ago

TheHippo 12y ago

The difference is that Instagram is trying to build a similar product with the same name, whereas the mentioned bus company is just a bus company that has a few stops in the United States. So most of the people living on this world will never even get chance to confuse the two of them.

matthewmacleod 12y ago
I don't really understand in what way this would be considered a similar product; aside from the fact it's a mobile app, they don't seem to overlap.
- chris_wot 12y ago
  That is exactly what the problem is.

Smirnoff 12y ago

Instagram/Facebook is NOT going to do anything about the name. Just look at the history. Facebook launched an iOS app and called it "Paper." And guess what? There was a very popular app, which was called "Paper" too. From recent cases I only remember Microsoft to change their mind in regards to their "Metro" OS. However, even in that case Microsoft decided to back off because "Metro" was a big retailer that sold Microsoft's products, so bad blood could cause bottom line to take a hit.

freehunter 12y ago
They also were forced to rename Skydrive to Onedrive due to a lawsuit by the British broadcaster Sky.

Mc_Big_G 12y ago

Trademarks are classified by "Goods and Services". A bus company is clearly different from a mobile app. A mobile app (Instagram) is clearly the same as a mobile app (Bolt). For the purposes of trademarking, the similarity of a "mobile voice and messaging" app and a "mobile photo sharing" app is not quite as clear. I'm sure some lawyers would be happy to help clear it up. So, while I get your intention, that's not how trademarks work. If Bolt doesn't have a trademark, they should stop complaining.

bhouston 12y ago

The word Bolt always has to have the lighting bolt in the "O". Bolt (the Disney movie): http://cdnvideo.dolimg.com/cdn_assets/abd7aa3a4851f515796d9dc82ea263bdbfe62cfa.jpg http://cdnvideo.dolimg.com/cdn_assets/abd7aa3a4851f515796d9d... Bolt Browser: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bolt_(web_browser) http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bolt_(web_browser)