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In a statement on Wednesday about the name change,
RIM did not address the trademark infringement ac
tion by Basis International. “The BlackBerry 10 na
me reflects the significance of the new platform a
nd will leverage the global strength of the BlackB
erry brand while also aligning perfectly with RIM’
s device branding,” the statement said. RIM did no
t respond to questions about whether it has abando
ned the BBX name.
The sudden rebranding is the latest in a series of
setbacks, both small and large, for RIM recently,
including having to restate its financial guidanc
e for the current quarter because of steep discoun
ts on its tablet computer as well as the firing of
two executives whose drunken outbursts forced the
return of a Toronto-to-Beijing flight and led to
criminal charges. The new financial guidance furth
er depressed RIM’s already battered stock price.
The new phone operating system was developed by QN
X Software Systems, a company based in Ottawa that
RIM acquired last year. The BBX name appeared to
be an attempt to meld the BlackBerry and QNX names.
Basis has been using both the BBX and BBx names fo
r several years on products that allow developers
to create apps that can work on any operating syst
em.
“Even the more cursory search for the BBX trademar
k would have shown that we hold it,” said Nico Spe
nce, the chief executive of Basis.
After RIM announced the BBX name at a developers’
conference in San Francisco in October, Basis soug
ht a permanent injunction under trademark laws. It
also asked for the temporary order, which is vali
d for only 14 days, to prevent RIM from using the
name at its developers conference in Singapore thi
s week.