Network Automation has filed a case against Hewlett Packard in the federal court in Los Angeles, claiming violation of its trademark.

HP faces the allegation for launching a line of software under the brand name ‘HP Network Automation’, even after being aware of corporate name of its competitor, Network Automation, using most of the term. The HP software mentioned in the case enables automate network configuration and compliance tasks, which is presently performed manually by customers.

As per the complaint, Network Automation had started using it as a corporate name, five years after registering the trademark, in 1999. The company is claiming unspecified amount for the damages, and is seeking the court to bar HP from applying the disputed term on its products.

Even our limited grasp of legal niceties suggests that HP may well be short of a leg to stand on over this one. X