Hulu, the joint video venture between NBC and News Corp is once again in the news for its rather bizarre name. Today in a strange twist of events, Lulu.com announced its suit against the media giants for trademark infringement, unfair and deceptive trade practices and for federal cyber piracy.
The complaint has been filed in US District Court in Raleigh, NC, and Lulu CEO Bob Young alleges that NBC and News Corp chose “Hulu” to create confusion in the market as both offer similar services.
“We have spent more than five years and tens of millions of dollars in investment successfully building the Lulu brand and website into a place for millions of creators and consumers to publish, buy, sell and manage digital content,” said Lulu CEO Bob Young. “It is clear we are required to move quickly to protect our intellectual property and defend ourselves against this infringement before it significantly damages our business.”
So is Lulu justified in taking legal action or do you see it as a publicity ploy by the company? Personally I wished NBC and News Corp could have shown more creativity when it came to naming their online video service. However it’s gratifying to see NBC on the other side of a copy infringement suit for once.
