Microsoft is facing trademark infringement claims after renaming its cloud file share and sync service from SkyDrive to OneDrive.
Danish hosting company One.com has been offering similar cloud-based file storage services under the banner Cloud Drive for some times and claims the OneDrive name could confuse customers.
Microsoft was ordered to change the name of SkyDrive in 2013 by the High Court of Justice of England and Wales after it was ruled the name meant it could be mistaken for a service offered by broadcaster BSkyB.
One.com’s claim is broadly similar, although COO Thomas Medard Frederiksen told Cloud Pro the firm was consulting with “trademark experts” and would not comment on whether it would be pursuing legal action.
“We think OneDrive is a name that is very close to our company name and that, combined with the fact that our product is in the same area we think it could be confusing for our clients,” said Frederiksen.
“While the name for [our product] is Cloud Drive, so not exactly the same, customers and users seem to connect the two things and say ‘Cloud Drive at One.com, that must be OneDrive’,” he added.
Frederiksen also claimed his concerns were backed up by real examples of confusion between the two products.
In response to the claims, a Microsoft spokesperson told Cloud Pro: "Microsoft does not comment on rumour or speculation."
French website Clubic has also discovered One.com may not be the only company with a potential trademark claim against Microsoft. There is a motor manufacturer in Texas, named KLD Energy Technologies whose flagship product is also called OneDrive, a trademark that has been in use for eight years, as shown in this picture.
