BellSouth Threatens Bellster

from the not-quite-what-was-expected dept

It's no surprise that a telco would get upset at Jeff Pulver's new route around the phone company offering, Bellster. However, it looks like the first move isn't concerning the service itself, but it's name. It appears that BellSouth seems to think Bellster is a little too close to their own name, and have requested that Jeff remove the word "Bell" from anything having to do with Bellster. Does BellSouth really own the trademark on "Bell" and can they really force anyone else to stop using it? It seems like the word "Bell" in association with telco services is pretty generic, dating back to Alexander Graham, himself. Also, considering the common use of "Ma Bell" and "Baby Bells," it seems like Jeff would have a pretty good claim on being able to use "Bell" in the name of a telco service.