London’s High Court ruled that Google had not infringed the trademarks of a British television company by using the word “shorts” on its YouTube platform.
Shorts International, a London-based operator of a TV channel dedicated to short films, filed a lawsuit against Google last year, claiming that its YouTube Shorts service had violated its trademarks.
YouTube had launched Shorts in 2020 as a platform that allows users to share 60-second videos online and on its app, and the tech company’s lawyers had argued during the trial that “short” can be applied to a wide range of productions and some of the trade marks should be revoked.
The High Court sided in large part with Google’s claims and dismissed the lawsuit.
In a written ruling issued Thursday, Judge Michael Tappin said YouTube’s use of the word “shorts” was not likely to cause confusion as to the origin of the service. He also said that YouTube’s use of the word will not cause damage to the distinctive character or repute of Shorts International’s trade marks.
He also concluded that Google’s signs do not misrepresent its service as being provided by Shorts International or in some way authorized by the British company.
A YouTube spokesperson said: “We welcome the court’s decision that there is no trademark infringement here.”
Shorts International did not respond to emailed requests for comment.
Shorts International was founded in 2000 by its CEO Carter Pilcher. It operates an international TV channel called ShortsTV, which had been launched in 2007. The court described it as a relatively small operation with a turnover of about $9 million in 2020.
The High Court’s ruling means that Google can avoid a costly rebranding of YouTube Shorts. Google had launched the platform to counter the rising popularity of the short video format on TikTok and Instagram Reels. Last year, Google said YouTube Shorts had already amassed an audience of 2 billion logged-in users every month, and 70 billion daily views.
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