Is Intel now "inside" everything?

Is Intel "inside" your photo prints?
Of all the strange things to lay claims to. Microsoft once wanted "windows" to be theirs alone, UPS laid claims to the color brown. Now Intel seems to own "inside".

Intel has successfully caused the British online photo service FotoInside Ltd to change its name to FotoInsight. Intel Europe's representative, the law firm Howrey Simon Arnold & White states in a letter to FotoInside Ltd the word "'INSIDE' format … was coined by our client in 1991 when it began using the INTEL INSIDE mark" and requests from FotoInside to change its name.

FotoInside was registered as a limited company in England and Wales in September 2003. It provides photo processing and gift items from digital photographs through the internet and delivered to the customer’s letterbox in 21 European countries. Apart from traditional photo and poster printing the online service offers a range of photo calendars, mugs, puzzles, shirts, and other photo gifts. Managing Director Klaas Brumann states: "Our photo processing company has never had any intention or wish to be associated to an American duopolist. It had never passed our mind that anybody seeing the FotoInside logo, advertising or website would associate it with the American chip maker."

The online photo service is now expanding rapidly across continental Europe, where the English term "inside" is not part of the local language. Brumann: "It has been difficult to assess the potential legal implications of Intel's claim across the 21 jurisdictions we are targeting. We found that for example French courts seem to grant a higher level of protection on the use of common English words than on French words. Therefore we preferred to change our name to FotoInsight Limited with immediate effect". This change has been accepted by Companies House and has now been implemented on fotoinsight.co.uk and across the company's communication.

While the European "Office for Harmonization in the Internal Market" centralises the registration process for trademarks and designs it is local institutions in individual member countries that provide protection. The differences in law and interpretation can have mayor implications for any British business trying to establish its name in other EU member countries. FotoInsight managed to undergo this process only due to the loyalty of its customers.