Subject: [NEXTEL-1] 'PTT' Designation Draws Complaint

From: [email-masked]
Date: Fri, 01 Aug 2003 15:56:28 -0400

'PTT'  Designation Draws Complaint 

By Wireless Week Staff
August 1, 2003

Verizon Wireless and Nextel Communications Inc. are locked in an increasingly
heated battle over push-to-talk services, exchanging complaints and
counter-complaints over alleged industrial espionage and even the trademarks for
the service's name.

After accusing Nextel of illegally obtaining and testing its prototype
walkie-talkie phones and its push-to-talk network recently, Verizon filed a
complaint last month with the U.S. District Court in Delaware asking that Nextel
not be allowed to trademark the words "push to talk" and "PTT." It asked the court
to declare those terms as "generic" and open for general use, as it plans to use
them in selling its own PTT service.

Verizon Wireless told the court the terms "PTT" and "push to talk" have been used
to describe walkie-talkie transmissions since the 1940s and were used by the U.S.
government, as well as private industry, to describe generic two-way radio
transmissions. It added that since the 1990s, companies such as Microsoft, IBM,
Ericsson, Motorola, AT&T and Nokia have used the term. It says Nextel's attempts
to trademark the words go against those precedents. Nextel filed to trademark the
terms in January 2002. Verizon seeks to have the court cancel any registration of
services under such a trademark.

Nextel says it is fully secure in the trademarks of the words. "We are as
confident in Nextel's trademark rights for Push To Talk and PTT as we are in our
technological leadership. The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office's approval of these
marks indicate we're not alone in this belief. We're certain the courts will
agree, too," it said in a statement.

In the meantime, Nextel asked a federal judge to dismiss Verizon Wireless'
accusations that it illegally obtained and tested Verizon Wireless' push-to-talk
telephones and network. Nextel said it had been loaned the phones by manufacturer
Motorola, which had consented to the testing. It added that the phones had been
returned.

http://www.wirelessweek.com/index.asp?layout=article&articleid=CA314175&spacedesc=Departments&stt=000

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