“SkyDrive” follows Metro into oblivion as Microsoft abandons trademark case

One month after a British court ruled that Microsoft's SkyDrive infringed on a British Sky Broadcasting (BSkyB) Group trademark, Microsoft has decided not to appeal and will find a new name for its cloud storage service.

A press release Microsoft provided to Ars today states that BSkyB and Microsoft have agreed to a "settlement of trade mark infringement proceedings in the European Union brought by Sky against Microsoft in the English High Court… According to the settlement, Microsoft will not pursue its planned appeal of this decision and Sky will allow Microsoft to continue using the SkyDrive name for a reasonable period of time to allow for an orderly transition to a new brand. The agreement also contains financial and other terms, the details of which are confidential."

Microsoft said it would not provide any details beyond what's in the press release, which also makes a vague reference to "joint projects" to benefit Microsoft and BSkyB customers. A new name for SkyDrive was not announced. The release does not specify whether the name change would occur in Europe only or worldwide, but it seems likely that Microsoft would want to have one name for the service in every region.

This settlement comes a year after Microsoft abandoned the name "Metro" amid rumors that a trademark suit was threatened by German retailer Metro AG.

BSkyB offered an online storage service called "Sky Store & Share" between 2008 and 2011, and it has trademarks such as Sky+, Sky Digital, Sky Broadband, Sky Go, Sky Mobile, Sky Bet, and Sky Photos.

The press release quotes BSkyB as saying, "We are pleased to have reached a settlement after Microsoft agreed not to appeal the trade mark infringement judgment in relation to its SkyDrive service. We will remain vigilant in protecting the Sky brand and will continue to take appropriate action against those companies who seek to use our trade mark without consent."

Microsoft said it's glad to put the naming resolution behind it, and intends to continue "providing the best way to always have your files with you" regardless of what its cloud service is called.