Although we heard it on good authority from people who we think should know, Cognos Software Inc now says that in fact it does have claims on the PowerHouse name and will be defending it. Cognos says the newly-formed NeXT Computer Inc spin-out PowerHouse Systems Inc, has a letter from Cognos saying the firm can’t use the PowerHouse name and that it is initiating action to prevent it from using PowerHouse in its company title or products. Cognos says the trademark is registered in good standing in the US, but it could not verify its standing in other countries. The company admits that its software does at times get confused with other Power-prefixed products such as PowerSoft, but denies that it is switching its newest client-server offering to a new nomenclature, Axiant, because of naming or trademark problems with PowerHouse. Although it plans further PowerHouse releases and continued support for its 28,000-strong PowerHouse user base, the arrival of Axiant raises obvious questions about the long-term future of the Cognos product in its current guise. Why PowerHouse Systems went ahead with its naming convention if PowerHouse is already an established trademark is unknown: company officials contacted did not respond to questions.
