Telecom accused of poaching iServe name

By ADAM GIFFORD

Wellington-based internet name registrar and web hosting company iServe has accused Telecom of poaching its name for a new service.

Chief executive Joyce Cottle said iServe's lawyers had written to Telecom demanding it cease using the name iServe for a new service it is offering.

Telecom's iServe allows firms to communicate information to mobile service staff by using personal digital organisers connected to its 027 mobile network.

"The first we heard about it was when our help desk fielded a call from someone demanding they fix a problem with their mobile connection," Cottle said.

"We didn't know what they were talking about. There was lots of confusion - I think the customer was having one of those blonde days. Then, a couple of days later, we had a customer who called us in a panic because they had seen iServe product on the Telecom site and thought Telecom had bought us."

iServe was registered as a company in 1999 and trademarked its name this year.

Cottle said if Telecom refused to stop using the name, it could be a drawn-out process to enforce the trademark.

A Google search on iServe leads first to Telecom's website. Curiously, while the links and headline refer to iServe, the body text refers to iService.

Telecom did not respond to questions about the issue.