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Be prepared, you might never read another article using the word "shorts" so many times again. Ready? A UK high court has ruled Google is free to use the word shorts (here we go!) for YouTube's platform Shorts. A British short films television channel called Shorts International, sued Google last year, arguing the name Shorts infringed on its existing trademark for the word, you guessed it, shorts. The court disagreed. "None of Googles uses of signs including the word shorts gives rise to a likelihood of confusion as to origin," Judge Michael Tappin stated in his ruling. "While the similarities between Googles signs and SILs trade marks will give rise to a link in the minds of the limited group of UK consumers amongst whom SILs trade marks have a reputation, Googles uses of signs including the word shorts will not cause damage to the distinctive character or repute of SILs trade marks." YouTube Shorts launched in 2020 in response to the popularity of other short video platforms like TikTok. It reached over 1.5 billion monthly users two years later and can now show videos up to three minutes long still pretty short (that's 12 short(s) for you).This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/big-tech/the-name-youtube-shorts-isnt-a-trademark-infringement-uk-court-rules-150258393.html?src=rss
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Marketing and Advertising
China has sanctioned Skydio, Americas largest drone maker, for providing unmanned aerial vehicles to Taiwans national fire service. Skydio CEO Adam Bry publicly acknowledged the sanctions on Wednesday. A few weeks ago, China announced sanctions on Skydio for selling drones to Taiwan, where our only customer today is the National Fire Agency, Bry wrote in a blog post. As first reported by the Financial Times, the ban has sent Skydio racing to find alternative battery suppliers. Although the company manufactures its drones in the US and sources many of the components that go inside of them from outside of China, Skydio had been wholly dependent on a single Chinese provider for batteries before October 11, when the countrys government imposed the embargo. According to Bry, the company has a substantial stock of power cells on hand, but those supplies wont be enough to prevent near-term rationing, and the alternate suppliers Skydio is working to engage wont come online until the spring of next year. Subsequently, future shipments of the companys flagship X10 drone (pictured above) will only come with one battery for the time being. Among the customers Skydio has been contracted to provide X10 drones to was Ukraines military, which planned to use the UAV for reconnaissance missions. Before the sanctions, Ukraine had requested thousands of X10 units, according to the Financial Times. Skydios relationship with Taiwan may have only been a pretext for the sanctions. We suspect Skydio was targeted by Beijing because it is likely seen as a competitor to DJI, a US official told the Financial Times. If there is a silver lining, we can use this episode to accelerate our work to diversify drone supply chains away from China. DJI, it should be mentioned, has long been in the crosshairs of the US government. In mid-October, the Chinese drone maker filed a lawsuit against the Department of Defense over a decision the Pentagon made to designate it as a Chinese military company. Earlier in the year, DJI narrowly avoided a national ban when the US Senate released its version of the 2025 National Defense Authorization Act.This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/general/china-sanctions-us-drone-maker-skydio-in-ongoing-trade-war-144507154.html?src=rss
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Marketing and Advertising
Music streamer Tidal will have its second big layoff in a year, and it might dwarf the last one, Fortune reports. Jack Dorsey, CEO of Block (Tidal's parent company since 2021) announced the organization will return to the style of a start-up, with fewer employees. "So we're going to part ways with a number of folks on our team, Dorsey told staff in a note. Block also owns Cash App, After Pay and BitKey, among others. We're going to lead with engineering and design, and remove the product management and product marketing functions entirely," Dorsey's note to Tidal employees continued. "We're reducing the size of our design team and foundational roles supporting Tidal, and we will consider reducing engineering over the next few weeks as we have more clarity around leadership going forward." Tidal previously laid off about 40 people across multiple departments in December 2023. Dorsey didn't announce the exact number of staff getting laid off, but sources within the company speculate it might be 100 individuals one-fourth of the company's employees. "We have made some internal changes to our Tidal team to focus on serving artists in the most meaningful way," a Tidal spokesperson said in a statement. "This involved the elimination of some roles across our business and design teams. We are going to be smaller, focus on fewer things, and move with a relentless approach to product development." Tidal notably removed its free tier for users in March. This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/entertainment/music/tidal-which-is-in-dire-need-of-some-good-marketing-lays-off-its-entire-product-marketing-team-143045120.html?src=rss
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Marketing and Advertising
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