If Microsoft Corp overcomes SyNet Inc’s challenge to the Internet Explorer name (CI No 3,441), we wonder whether, given its aspirations in the interactive cable market Redmond might find itself facing a more significant adversary further down the wire. Scientific Atlanta Inc owns the trademark to Explorer, its cable set-top box. Scientific Atlanta says its trademark applies simply to the set-top hardware, the Explorer 2000 unit, but industry insiders who’ve done some homework on the Explorer trademark for material reasons figure it applies the entire product: software, hardware and all. They wonder whether the name Explorer used with data browsing cable TV means that Microsoft could be blocked from using its brand for any web access via cable TV, especially if cable becomes a popular mechanism for delivering the internet. Even if Scientific Atlanta, a conservative organization where industry politics are concerned, is playing down the notion, surely it would be forced to stand up and defend its name if Microsoft begins to capture the hearts and minds of the interactive television industry with Internet Explorer. Then again, Scientific Atlanta’s trademark is thought to have been acquired from its set-top operating system acquisition PowerTV.
