Nuvio says Garmin stole Nuviphone name

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Nuvio, a hosted PBX reseller, and Garmin are in a tooth and nail fight over the Nuviphone name. Nuvio is claiming that they are infringing on their business a la Apple Inc. v. Apple Records by selling phones under the Nuvi brand. While any normal person wouldn’t be confused by the two, Nuvio’s customer’s aren’t so bright:

“While we would have preferred to settle this without resorting to a lawsuit, we felt it was important to ensure that our customers and potential customers are not confused by someone abusing our legally protected trademark,” said Jason P. Talley, the company’s chief executive officer. “Our customers commonly refer to our service as the Nuvio phone.

They are also trying to get Garmin to stop using the Nuvi name — first used in 2006 — altogether.

Nuvio sues Garmin over Nuviphone [Yahoo.com]