Competitors Gang Up on Dish Network Over “Dish Anywhere” Trademark
Los Angeles – Several rivals of Dish Network rallied together last week to oppose a newly filed Trademark Application for “Dish Anywhere.” Comcast, Time Warner Cable, Cablevision, Cox, and Charter Communications all filed oppositions against fellow Pay-TV operator Dish Network, claiming that they would be harmed if Dish Network was granted the exclusive right to use the term.
The United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) website shows that Dish Network’s trademark application was filed on September 18, 2012 in three classes covering “non-downloadable computer software for streaming audio, video, image and data information to a variety of network devices, digital video recorders, and telecommunication services, among other items. In the opposition papers filed last week, the rival Pay-TV companies separately claimed that the term “anywhere” was a merely descriptive and generic term. They argued that, “As a result of such widespread use, the public understands the term ‘anywhere’ to be merely descriptive when used in connection with the transmission and streaming of television programs and other content.” As a result, they demanded that Dish Network be made to give up the right to exclusively use the word.
Dish Network has yet to publicly comment on the opposition or issue any formal response. The trademark at issue centers on the TV provider’s new “Dish Anywhere” service, which allows customers to access live TV, On Demand shows, and DVR recordings even while away from home. According to the Dish Network website, users must have a broadband internet connection as well as two of Dish Network’s devices, namely the “Hopper” and the “Sling”, in order to use “Dish Anywhere.”
This recent squabble among the major Pay-TV providers is the most recent in a string of issues that Dish has faced as of late. In 2012, it encountered a lawsuit filed by Fox Broadcasting Co. for copyright infringement. The claims in that law suit centered on Dish’s alleged copying of features included in its Hopper device, which allows customers to record blocks of TV content at a time and to skip and delete ads out of DVR content.