Much ToDo About Nothing

BGR.com: iOS developer is threatening to sue Android devs for using the word ‘ToDo’

A developer that creates apps for Apple’s (AAPL) iOS platform has threatened to sue an Android app maker for using the word “ToDo.” Appigo has sent a letter to an Android developer regarding his Star Trek ToDo Agenda app. In the letter, Appigo notes that it owns the trademark for the word “ToDo” and the developer’s use of the word is “likely to cause customer confusion to our existing and potential customers.” The problem with all this, as David Ruddock of Android Police points out, is that Appigo’s trademark happens to be for the Spanish word “Todo,” and not a fanciful respelling of the phrase “to-do.” Ruddock explains that “had Appigo claimed ToDo [was] a fanciful respelling of To-Do, it would almost certainly not have received principle registration for its trademark until it had established sufficient secondary meaning.”

Yep, looking at Appigo's trademark registration, they did indeed trademark the word TODO (in all caps) with a statement that "The English translation of "TODO" in the mark is "ALL" or "EVERYTHING"."

Ooops, you really gotta hate cease-and-desist letters based on flimsy or in this case untenable legal support.