Recently NBC Universal announced that in July the Sci Fi Channel will change its name to Syfy. The reasons:

“Syfy — unlike the generic entertainment category ’sci-fi’ – firmly establishes a uniquely ownable trademark that is portable across all non-linear digital platforms and beyond, from Hulu to iTunes. Syfy also creates an umbrella brand name that can extend into new adjacent businesses under the Syfy Ventures banner, such as Syfy Games, Syfy Films and Syfy Kids.”

It seems to make sense, in a corporate sort of way. But the founder of the online sci-fi news network Airlock Alpha, which recently rebranded from SyFy Portal, takes great offense that NBC Universal claims it developed the new moniker independently.

Journalist Michael Hinman makes it clear that he sold the brand, through an intermediary, to NBC and that he makes no further claim on it — but he wishes they would come clean about the name’s origins. Read the rest of this entry »