BOSTON — The Massachusetts Institute of Technology has filed suit against Time Inc. and CNet Networks Inc., saying their new magazine infringes on the trademark of the university’s alumni technology magazine, Technology Review.
The new magazine by Time — part of the AOL Time Warner Inc. media conglomerate — and CNet is called Fortune/CNet Technology Review.
R. Bruce Journey, publisher of MIT’s magazine, said he asked Time Inc. to change the name. MIT had no choice but to sue after Time Inc. refused the request, he said.
“They’ve taken our name,” Journey said. “It is the essence of our brand.”
“AOL Time Warner is the biggest company in the world, and in my view probably the best,” Journey said. “That doesn’t mean they’re the 400-pound gorilla that can sit wherever they want. We have to defend our trademark.”
The suit was filed June 11 in U.S. District Court in Boston. The university is not seeking damages.
“We believe that this case is without merit,” Fortune magazine spokeswoman Terry McDevitt said.
Technology Review has been published since 1899, and the name has been trademarked since 1957, Journey said. The magazine, which covers emerging technologies, has seen astronomical growth in recent years, going from a circulation of 87,000 in 1998 to about 300,000 as of January this year, he said.
