It seems someone else already uses the Xylem name and now ITT and (ITT) Xylem are being sued by The Xylem Group, a manufacturer of bath and plumbing products, for infringing on its trademarked name and sowing confusion in the marketplace. ITT’s Xylem operates several divisions including water solutions and flow control and offers numerous products such as pumps and controllers, but doesn’t appear to offer any finished products. The Xylem Group (‘TXG’) cites the US Patent & Trademark’s office denial of a Xylem trademark by ITT for potential confusion as one piece of evidence for its claim. ITT’s Xylem denies the allegation that there is any confusion. The stock price hasn’t really reacted to the news at all.
Before going any further, it is worth noting that I have absolutely ZERO knowledge of trademark law or the legal process in a trademark case (apologies to the professor of my lone business law class). I have nothing to add regarding the merits of the case. From a completely uninformed layman’s view, it seems somewhat reasonable, but that means nothing when it comes to our legal system. Again, as it is worth repeating, I have NO idea whether or not this case has any merit. That said, I have to imagine one of the top priorities when choosing is a name is avoiding a lawsuit and in that regard ITT has failed. Perhaps it anticipated this problem and thought it wouldn’t be in issue? Must be because the first result when googling Xylem is The Xylem Group so they had to know it was out there.
Anyone out there who is more knowledgeable than me (shouldn’t be too hard) want to share an opinion on this?
Disclosure: Author currently holds no position in any stock mentioned.
