{"id":650672,"date":"2013-04-04T16:14:06","date_gmt":"2013-04-04T20:14:06","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/gigaom.com\/?p=627516"},"modified":"2013-04-04T16:14:06","modified_gmt":"2013-04-04T20:14:06","slug":"intel-inside-out-trademark-filings-point-towards-intel-media-plans","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/mereja.media\/index\/650672","title":{"rendered":"Intel inside & out: trademark filings point towards Intel Media plans"},"content":{"rendered":"

Intel’s plan to enter the media biz is looking more ambitious by the day:\u00a0The company applied for a series of trademarks last week that seem to be related to the TV service it is going to launch out of its Intel Media unit. Intel filed three applications with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office for trademarks on \u201cIntel inside & out,\u201d and the services described in these filings<\/a> all fit Intel\u2019s plans for its TV venture<\/a>.<\/p>\n

And while looking into these filings, I also stumbled across a seemingly related filing made a few months ago in secrecy that hints at possible branding strategies, and further highlights the ambitious scope of Intel\u2019s TV plans.<\/p>\n

Intel goes all out for its media service<\/h2>\n

Intel filed for three trademarks for Intel inside & out at the end of March in an attempt to secure the rights for both the phrase as well as two logo renditions. The applications cover a broad and somewhat random description of devices, including everything from set-top boxes to personal digital assistants, video cameras and media players. However, the description of associated services is a little more telling, and includes \u201cproviding text, data, image, audio, video, gaming and multimedia content for a fee or pre-paid subscription.\u201d Also covered are:<\/p>\n

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\u201cOn demand transmission and services of data, audio, video, gaming and multimedia content; broadcasting services; teleconferencing; electronic transmission and streaming of movies, music, video, gaming and multimedia content;\u201d<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

And it gets even more detailed:<\/p>\n

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\u201cEntertainment Services; providing a database featuring audio, videos, television programs, motion pictures, games, current events and entertainment news, sports, games, cultural events, social, and entertainment-related programs; electronic games services provided by means of the internet;\u201d<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

All of these items seem to describe Intel\u2019s plans for its TV service pretty well. The company has been mum on some key details, but Intel Media boss Eric Huggers said in February<\/a> that he wants to launch a full-blown TV subscription service that competes with cable, offering live broadcast feeds, on-demand content and an iPlayer-like TV catch-up service.<\/p>\n

Oh, and the company will also make its own device, which it intends to sell through retail partners as well as on its own website, which is why the trademark application also includes a mention of \u201conline retail of consumer electronic equipment and devices.\u201d<\/p>\n

But wait, there\u2019s more<\/h2>\n

The Intel inside & out trademark applications were filed by Katherine M. Basile, an attorney with Novak Druce & Quipp LLP<\/a>, a Cupertino-based law firm that has been doing these kinds of applications for Intel for a number of years now. Centrino, Atom and the original Intel Inside were all registered as trademarks by Basile.<\/p>\n

\"The<\/a><\/p>\n

This is the home of the mysterious 12307 Company LLC. Is it a shell company, used by Intel to trademark a possible Intel TV brand?<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

But when I looked at her past filings, I stumbled across something curious: Back in September, she filed a trademark for Arlo<\/a>, which features a description virtually identical to the one that\u2019s part of the Intel inside and out application. Whole paragraphs seem to have been copied and pasted, including key descriptions like the one defining \u201cbroadcasting services; teleconferencing; electronic transmission and streaming of movies, music, video, gaming and multimedia content.\u201d<\/p>\n

However, Arlo wasn\u2019t filed for Intel, but for an entity called 12307 Company LLC. That company was incorporated in Delaware in 2007, but it never applied for any other trademarks than Arlo. A quick check with the Delaware Department of State showed that its business address is in the famous Corporation Trust Center<\/a> in Wilmington, Delaware, where it shares a mailbox with some 200,000 other companies. It\u2019s a shell company, meant to hide the involvement of another entity.<\/p>\n

So what does all of this mean?<\/h2>\n

Before we jump to conclusions about these trademarks, it\u2019s worth remembering that companies don\u2019t always act on their trademark filings. It\u2019s possible that Intel filed for an inside & out trademark, and used 12307 Company to secure the trademark for Arlo, but won\u2019t actually use either of them once it unveils its TV service. It\u2019s possible, but somewhat unlikely, that Intel and 12307 Company don\u2019t have any connection at all, and just filed virtually identical trademark applications through the same lawyer by accident. (Yeah, I don\u2019t buy that one either.)<\/p>\n

And of course, it is also possible that we are going to see an Arlo-branded TV service, powered by Intel inside & out, emerge later this year. An Intel Media spokesperson declined to comment on Intel inside and out as well as Arlo, instead sending me the following statement:<\/p>\n

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“We haven’t shared any info on the brand beyond confirming that we will introduce a new and unique brand when our product comes to market later this year.”<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

However, the bigger point here is that Intel isn\u2019t just content with building a service that streams cable channels to your TV. Huggers told me during an interview in February that he wants to target all screens, and that this is part of a bigger plan to transform Intel. Turn the chip maker into a company that delivers and monetizes services running on those chips.<\/p>\n

TV is only one piece of that puzzle, and your TV set is only one of many screens. Some of the other offerings mentioned in the filings, like video gaming and teleconferencing or even the notion of a multiscreen cloud media platform, are the logical next steps. Intel seems to be getting ready to embark on this journey, and in the process reinvent itself — inside and out.<\/p>\n

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