RSSWill Microsoft Live Search get renamed 'Kumo'?
By Jacqueline Emigh | Published December 15, 2008, 11:29 AM
In a filing last December 4, Microsoft has trademarked the "Kumo" name, after previously acquiring the Kumo.com domain name. So it's bound to mean something eventually; the question is, will it mean something new?
In its trademark filing, Microsoft said that it might use the Kumo name for a variety of purposes, such as "computer search engine software," "computer searches, including search engine services," and "dissemination of advertising including dissemination of advertising for others via the Internet."
Though Microsoft has filed for the trademark, it has not yet been officially registered by the US Patent and Trademark Office, though conceivably the company could begin using the mark at any time. Just because a company files a trademark for a term or phrase doesn't mean it necessarily will use it for the purposes it specifies, or will do so right away -- as was the case two years ago when Apple filed a trademark for "iBook."
Microsoft is also now the owner of a number of related domain names, including Kumosearch.com, Kumotravel.com, and Kumowiki.com.
Microsoft already offers services in these categories under its "Windows Live" brand. Now, rumors are about that Microsoft will replace the "Windows Live" brand with "Kumo." However, Microsoft already has extensive trademark protection around "Windows Live" that extends beyond what it's reserving for "Kumo," suggesting the possibility that a less Windows-centric brand for services could co-exist with "Windows Live" instead.
"Live Search" is an extension of Microsoft's Windows Live services, and actually is not a Microsoft trademark. Without the space, "LiveSearch" was actually registered in August 2007 to VirtualAlly LLC.
Microsoft, perpetually a distant third in the search engine standings, has been struggling for some time now to catch up to industry leader Google and second-place player Yahoo. Would a catchier name -- whether Kumo or not -- do anything to help out its cause?
[Scott M. Fulton, III provided additional information for this report.]
Microsoft should consider the way product names can have impact on language and how that can positively impact market saturation. If I told you I googled something, you wouldn't think I was a pervert, would you?
In the case of Kumo... if Microsoft continues on its pattern of search sucking, they're sort of begging people to say they kumo'd or "commoded" it which would, of course, be another way of saying your search revealed nothing useful or your attempts went down the toilet.
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|there may be a connection to their distorted judgement and nero, the roman emperor who played the fiddle while rome burned.
similar to being poisoned by dishware made from lead; today mercury poisoning can alter logical sensibilities.
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|wtf is a 'kumo'? where do they come up with this s***? Did Microsoft hire a bunch of marketing people from the US auto companies?
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|the connection is likely to the fad of eating raw fish and seaweed contaminated with mercury for lunch.
isn't it from the same culture that auction a whole tuna fish for a million dollars, eat dolphins and whales and the fins of sharks?
not very conscientious of civilized americans to partake in such archaic and hostile festivities.
one should calculate how many hungry mouths can a whole tuna fish feed against how many hungry mouths a million dollars can feed.
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|Will Microsoft Live Search get renamed 'Kumo'?
Will it matter?
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|i think calling an american product kumo is utterly stupid.
perhaps, microsoft is prejedice and refuses to use something more stylish like: nubes.
besides what would be wrong for microsoft having a contest?
COME ON MICROSOFT, WAKE UP, SMELL THE COFFEE....!
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|Changing the name from something recognizable that actually gives some hint of what it is about is never as good as a name that totally obscures the product's function and renders it unrecognizable to the market for which is intended.
Yawn...
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|Will Microsoft Live Search get renamed 'Kumo' = Wild speculation!
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|When I read Kumo, my brain always think about Rivers Cuomo... "I'm a troublemaker..."
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|"Kumo" means "cloud" in Japanese... See a trend here?
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|"Would a catchier name -- whether Kumo or not -- do anything to help out its cause?"
Kumo is catchy? With that kind of thinking, it sorta gives you an idea of how far behind they really are...
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