Sci Fi Channel Changing to Syfy

The Sci Fi Channel has recently announced that it is planning to change its name to “Syfy.”  As reported on Lawdit Reading Room, the change is part of the channel’s rebranding effort, and an attempt to end confusion on how to capitalize and style the name.  Network officials have stated that “Sci Fi” is a genre, and changing to “Syfy” will make their name more marketable and secure trademark registration and protection.

Will the name change really be that significant?  The name “Sci-Fi” name is so well known, it’ll take some time before the name change reaches everyone.  Thus, the change may initially hinder the success of the channel, rather than helping it.  Furthermore, securing a registered trademark for the change in spelling may not be as straightforward as it seems.

According to the USPTO, a misspelling of a word will not turn a descriptive or generic word into a non-descriptive mark.  One example is how the trade mark C-THRU is the equivalent of “see-through.”  Its possible that an examining attorney will hold Syfy to be the equivalent of Sci-Fi, and therefore merely descriptive of the science fiction television channel.  While there are ways around this rule, the channel will still have to actually use the mark in commerce before the USPTO will register the mark.

The official name change to “Syfy” will take place on July, 7, 2009.