Specialized OWNS Roubaix

Have they said anything yet? It's an object lesson in how not to settle a trademark dispute, but I wasn't aware that they had fucked up their handling of the backlash yet.

Handling a social media backlash is all in the hours. This kicked off days ago, no response or comment by now is a serious failure. A holding statement or even a restatement of their claim would be far better than the current run of radio silence.

It's clear that Specialized pretty much have an obligation to do something about the trademark issue. Failure to protect a trademark in one instance will significantly weaken a claim in another, regardless of the merit of either. Pretty much anything involving cycling and the word Roubaix in an area where can pursue a trademark claim needs to be pursued, regardless of whether or not there is likely to be any realistic damage to trade. Such is the dickbag nature of the world of litigation.

That's an aside to the social media side of things. Failure to say anything at all sends a message that Specialized don't care what their customers think about something that is getting played out very publicly. That's going to damage their customer base and from there damage their ability to secure the kind of sponsorship deals that are very important in this kind of business.

Edit note; clearly I missed the article linked to by Thesilversurfer which adds a new dimension to the whole situation and Specialized claim now appears to be rather less solid. However, not all cut and dried as although ASI describe the trademark registration as inappropriate, it doesn't mean that it definitely isn't valid. The registration and the Canadian claim may still stand, subject to further legal considerations. Still asshats through.