Airbnb Preventing the Use of BnB
A small guesthouse on the Isle of Portland is facing legal pressure from Airbnb over the use of the term 'bnb' in its name. The guesthouse argues the term is a generic description, while Airbnb claims it infringes on their global brand identity.
Why it matters
Illustrates the tension between corporate trademark enforcement and the rights of small businesses to use descriptive language.
‘We do things differently here in Portland’: Rocca Holly-Nambi, director of b-side, and Cat Wightman, manager of the bnb-side guesthouse. Photograph: Pete Millson ‘We do things differently here in Portland’: Rocca Holly-Nambi, director of b-side, and Cat Wightman, manager of the bnb-side guesthouse. Photograph: Pete Millson Airbnb ‘We’re not going to back down’: tiny Portland B&B stands up to Airbnb’s legal bid to ‘monopolise’ letters ‘bnb’ Three little letters - bnb-side’s name is a play on the local b-side arts festival, but Silicon Valley colossus sees threat to global brand
Get smarter about the news
Sign up free for a feed built around what you actually care about, Dive Deeper research on any story, and the full text of every article.
Create free accountAlready have an account? Sign in