A Ukrainian IT company Starlink has reportedly won a lawsuit against Elon Musk’s SpaceX. This comes after SpaceX attempted to require the firm to change its brand name, as reported by Ukrainian media outlets.
According to the reports, citing court documents, the Kiev Economic Court ruled against SpaceX’s request for early termination of registration of its Ukrainian counterpart in March of this year. Last November, reports emerged that SpaceX, which operates under the Starlink brand, had initiated legal proceedings against Starlink LLC and intellectual property agency Ukrpatent, alleging trademark infringement. (via Sputnik)
However, the Ukrainian Starlink had filed for trademark registration in 2010 and was granted registration a year later, while Musk’s Starlink Ukraine obtained trademark rights in 2020.
In an interview with Ukrainian media, the founder of Starlink LLC revealed that SpaceX officials had reached out to him in 2021, asking him to abandon the brand name. While he did not discount the possibility of engaging in negotiations with SpaceX, he stated that he would only do so if he was compensated for any losses incurred during the rebranding process.
