After a U.S. court placed a temporary ban over copyright infringement allegations Tuesday on the use of the new “BBX” name, BlackBerry-maker Research In Motion (RIM) has abandoned the moniker, opting instead for “BlackBerry 10.”
“RIM doesn’t typically comment on pending litigation; however RIM has already unveiled a new brand name for its next generation mobile platform,” the company said in a statement.
The company announced “BBX” in October at a San Francisco developer conference, but Basis International, a New Mexico-based company that develops applications for multiple operating systems, announced days later it had rights to the “BBx” name and would head to court to protect its property.
The U.S. federal court in Albuquerque said RIM must deal with copyright infringement allegations before it can use the BBX name. The ruling said the names could confuse Basis customers into believing its development tools are only compatible with RIM’s BBX operating system.
RIM has suffered setbacks in the past months and bet heavily on BBX after it bought the developer of QNX, a smartphone operating system on which BBX is based. Still, RIM says the new name is just as effective in promoting its brand.
“The BlackBerry 10 name reflects the significance of the new platform and will leverage the global strength of the BlackBerry brand while also aligning perfectly with RIM’s device branding,” RIM said in the statement.
