It seems Garmin may have to use their GPS expertise to navigate the courts, as business PBX company Nuvio have filed a trademark infringement lawsuit against them over the name of their upcoming nuvifone.  According to Nuvio, not only has Garmin overstepped their trademark but they did so knowingly; they claim negotiations took place to reach a “mutually satisfactory resolution” but that no agreement could be found.

“While we would have preferred to settle this without resorting to a lawsuit, we felt it was important to ensure that our customers and potential customers are not confused by someone abusing our legally protected trademark.  Our customers commonly refer to our service as the Nuvio phone”Jason P. Talley, CEO, Nuvio

Nuvio issued a cease-and-desist letter to Garmin on January 31st, and are seeking both confirmation of trademark infringement as well as a permanent injunction regarding the Nuvi name in the future.  They are also demanding damages for “past infringement”, presumably for Garmin’s range of dedicated GPS devices.

Garmin are yet to comment on the lawsuit.

[via Electronista]