A British mom is locked in a David versus Goliath trademark battle with American tech giant Microsoft over the name of her firm, Word Window, which helps kids learn to read.
Kate McKenzie said she was just days away from launching her new product when she unexpectedly received a letter from Microsoft regarding the product's name. The company allegedly took exception to the similarity of the name of McKenzie's product for its word processing software Microsoft Word and its PC operating system, Windows.
University lecturer McKenzie maintains that she is not trying to muscle in on the market of Microsoft and that she is just trying to help dyslexic kids learn to read. Microsoft, which boasted an annual turnover of $197.7 billion (£168 billion) last year, said it could not comment on ongoing legal matters.
McKenzie receives letter from Microsoft just days before her product launch
McKenzie, who hails from Duston, in Northampton, England, spent four years developing the handheld tool to help kids learn to read after being inspired by her son's struggles. The tool is placed over books and covers lines of text but leaves a gap in the middle so kids can focus on specific words when reading.
She filed the patent for Word Window back in October 2020 but only received a "without prejudice" letter from Microsoft just nine days before the product's launch on July 1, according to Newsweek. McKenzie said she was devastated by Microsoft's actions as she had already paid thousands of dollars on branding and packaging.
McKenzie explained that the letter was a threat of opposition against the trademark Word Windows. She said that they were not happy about the trademark and they were not happy about the company name.
McKenzie admitted that it had been a stressful time for her, who is just a mom trying to launch a product that will support literacy. She said she was not expecting a big business like Microsoft to contact her.
McKenzie hopes she and Microsoft can iron things out
The mom of two said she has been in negotiations with Microsoft to try and resolve the situation and demonstrate that she is not trying to infringe on their product or services and is just trying to develop literacy levels in the U.K.
Word Window aims to help young kids struggling to read due to dyslexia by breaking down words into manageable chunks with the help of the tool's window and superhero Wordy, according to the Guardian. McKenzie said she was driven to develop the educational tool after both her nine-year-old son Lucas and herself struggled with dyslexia.
McKenzie, who lives with her husband Julian, and their two sons, Lucas and Elliot, said that her oldest son was quite excited about bringing home his books, to begin with. It soon became clear, however, that he was finding things tricky, and she does not think she dealt with it very well, and he lost confidence because of it.
