Amazon conducting itself like 'playground bully' in Kindle trademark row
Amazon has reportedly been accused of acting like a “playground bully” after suing the maker of the popular CBeebies show Big & Small over its trademark.
The e-tail giant has claimed the production company of the Lenny Henry-voiced show - London-based company Kindle Entertainment - has violated its Kindle e-reader trademark, according to the Sunday Times.
However, Kindle Entertainment was founded in 2006 – several months before Amazon launched its e-reader in the US and several years before it rolled the product out in the UK.
Amazon has now blocked Kindle Entertainment from registering the trademark for shows, having already taken the name across a broad range of other categories.
Kindle Entertainment has expressed its interest in resolving the dispute, but added that Amazon has conducted itself poorly throughout the issue.
Anne Brogan, a director of Kindle Entertainment, told The Sunday Times the company cannot afford to change its trading name after eight years of business, adding “We would love to reach a sensible settlement with Amazon, but [it] is just behaving like a playground bully.”
Amazon is also in the midst of a trademark dispute with Freesat.