World News
Google wins trademark lawsuit over YouTube Shorts, court says no confusion
Shorts International, which runs a television channel dedicated to short films, had sued the tech giant last year, accusing Google of infringing its trademark over the term “shorts”.
LONDON: Google on Thursday defeated a trademark lawsuit brought by a British short film company over YouTube’s short video platform Shorts, with London’s High Court ruling that there was no risk of confusion for consumers.
Shorts International, which runs a television channel dedicated to short films, had sued the tech giant last year, accusing Google of infringing its trademark over the term “shorts”.
Google-owned YouTube launched Shorts, featuring minute-long videos, in late 2020 as it struggled to compete with TikTok.
Google lawyer Lindsay Lane argued in court documents filed in a lawsuit earlier this month that it was “absolutely obvious” that the Shorts platform came from YouTube, not Shorts International.
Judge Michael Tappin said in a written ruling that Google’s use of the term “Shorts” would not likely cause any confusion about the platform’s origins.
He also said that Google and YouTube’s use of the term would “not harm the distinctive character or reputation of (Shorts International’s) trademarks” and dismissed the suit.
Google and Shorts International did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
