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Bolt: Dear Instagram,(blog.bolt.co)

9 years ago from Johnny Lam, Visual Designer at UC Riverside

  • Rich ArnoldRich Arnold, 9 years ago

    I'm not sure they have a leg to stand on here. They're not a direct competitor so (if I'm not mistaken) Instagram won't be infringing. If it's simply "you shouldn't name it "Bolt" because there is another "Bolt" then they'd both be guilty of that same thing. It seems this is an argument for having more ownable names. See Paper vs. Facebook Paper.

    5 points
    • Derryl CarterDerryl Carter, 9 years ago

      Not an exact match, sure. But they're both in the communications category, so it's a different situation than Paper was in

      1 point
    • Shawn BorskyShawn Borsky, 9 years ago

      Generally, when you talk about infringement and competitors its about being "Confusingly similar". If say Instagram was creating a new highly caffeinated coffee drink then its fine.

      But - They are both iPhone messaging apps. That is certainly close enough to be confusingly similar. Especially because Instagram's Bolt isn't even available in the US. Really, just both being "apps" would probably be enough.

      There likely isn't much this Bolt can actually do unless they hold trademarks but I think Instagram should have been more thoughtful with their selection.

      1 point
      • Rich ArnoldRich Arnold, 9 years ago

        Sure, but that's like saying the Toyota Bolt and BoltBus should be at odds because they're both in the transportation business, but in reality they're not really in competition with one another.

        I suppose morally they SHOULD have been more thoughtful, but I've never known a billion dollar organization to be particularly thoughtful.

        0 points