WINSTON-SALEM, N.C.–Truliant Federal Credit Union has agreed to give BB&T Corp. and SunTrust Banks Inc. more time to respond to a trademark-infringement lawsuit, but the credit union remains firm in its conviction the banks need to find a new name.
As CUToday.info reported here, in June Truliant filed a lawsuit against BB&T and SunTrust Banks after they announced plans to merge and form a new $28-billion bank to be called Truist. The credit union’s complaint alleges the new name is too similar sounding to its own.
On Friday, a federal judge approved an extension giving BB&T and SunTrust until Dec. 4 to file responses to the lawsuit. The banks were served Sept. 4 with a series of documents aimed at compelling a response, reported the Winston Salem Journal.
Richard Keshian, an attorney with Kilpatrick Townsend & Stockton who is representing BB&T, said in the most recent motion the financial institutions are engaging “in discussions to determine whether this matter can be resolved,” according to the Journal.
Both sides said the requested extension “would promote judicial economy and efficiency,” the report added, before noting Truliant FCU also stated, “We remain resolute in our position that the best outcome is for BB&T and SunTrust to select another name.”
Selected From ‘Thousands of Choices’
As both CUToday.info and the Winston Salem Journal reported, BB&T and SunTrust said Truist was chosen from what the banks and global marketing firm Interbrand said were “thousands” of choices. The name is defined as meaning “unselfish concern for the welfare of others; selflessness.”
The Winston Salem Journal said Truliant wants the banks to be prevented from moving forward with marketing Truist at retail or online sites, including applying for Truist trademarks.
“The credit union foresees overlap in how the brands are applied throughout the expanding digital marketplace,” Truliant said in its filing.
Issue in Search Engines
Truliant FCU President Todd Hall told the Winston Salem Journal that “when a consumer searches online for a Truliant location or information about a Truliant product or service, while typing in ‘Truliant’ a search engine may automatically populate results including “Truist” and redirect consumers to that entity, especially given the direct geographic overlap in the respective markets.”
In an emailed statement to CUToday.info, Hall added "bigger problems with brand confusion exist as financial institutions’ digital ecosystems incorporate the next wave of retail-tech game changers. We see difficulty for consumers who can’t distinguish between our names being led down the wrong path as they increasingly interact with elements like voice tech, digital assistants, machine learning, and artificial intelligence, which may not necessarily incorporate visual brand elements.”
Hall also expressed disappointment to the Journal that the trademark issue “is coming from our soon-to-be former neighbor less than six miles down the road who is intimately familiar with our brand and yet chose such a similar name...It speaks volumes that they are wholly unconcerned with trading on the brand equity that we’ve built over the last two decades.”