Ricoh and Toshiba Tec are creating a new company to produce MFPs.
In their latest filing, Ricoh announced the launch of their new manufacturing behemoth that will produce MFPs, ETRIA Co., LTD. This new company will produce Ricoh and Toshiba Tec devices.
The new name was included in the recently published Ricoh financials and is similar to the European Trade Association, ETIRA (etira.org). There is also ETRIA, a European TRIZ Association (etria.eu). For the IP mined readers, Ricoh has registered the ETRIA trademark and you can check it here.
We reached out to Ricoh to ask them if they were aware that the ETRIA name is very close, almost identical to ETIRA, the European Toner and Inkjet Remanufacturing Association and whether this will cause confusion in the office imaging market?
A Ricoh spokesperson told The Recycler: “We are aware that there are similar names, but we have trademark checked and cleared ETRIA.
“We do not believe that this will cause any confusion in the market, as products will continue to be branded as either Ricoh or Toshiba Tec, as they are today.”
It is possible to challenge the ETRIA trademark and challenges should be made by the 30th of April this year.
Our take on this: The similarity is there, and it is likely to confuse. A coincidence? Who knows? But one thing remains clear: whether you’re in the market for an MFP or looking to join a trade association, you’re only one letter away from a world of confusion. We suggest a new slogan: “Keep Calm and Double-Check Your Acronyms.”
