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U.S. patent office to revisit Dell's 'cloud computing' trademark

The company had received near-final approval of the moniker

By Patrick Thibodeau

August 6, 2008 12:00 PM ET

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Eric Novikoff says: I'm not sure what Dell can do with cloudcomputing.com Unfortunately, our broken domain name licensing system is not synchronized sufficiently...

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Anonymous says: Seriously though, talk about a general idea....

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Computerworld - The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) has done an about-face on Dell Inc.'s effort to claim a trademark on "cloud computing" and is reconsidering its earlier action.

Dell had received near-final approval for this trademark, but the USPTO canceled its "Notice of Allowance" on Tuesday, according to trademark records. The application has been "returned to examination."

Dell spokesman David Frink said the company isn't commenting on the USPTO's action, other than to acknowledge that the issue is going back to the examiner for additional review. He didn't want to speculate on what that might mean.

Joe Englander, an intellectual property attorney at Shutts & Bowen LLP in Fort Lauderdale, Fla., said the USPTO 's decision may have been prompted by the public attention the trademark was getting.

Englander suspects a primary examiner, a person in a senior position, "looked at it and probably agreed with some of the arguments that were made public."

The USPTO move is a setback for Dell, said Englander. "It means that right when you thought you were out of the woods, you are not," he said.

Englander was among the attorneys who argued that "cloud computing" is a generic term. Even if the USPTO ultimately grants approval, the company may still face challenges.

Dell, however, already owns cloudcomputing.com.

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U.S. patent office to revisit Dell's 'cloud computing' trademark

The company had received near-final approval of the moniker

Dell

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