Logitech subsidiary upsets OBS with confusing naming scheme

Has a Logitech subsidiary committed trademark infringement against the popular OBS service? This accusation is in the air, given the name “Streamlabs OBS”.

OBS community incensed

On Twitter, the OBS community has made a serious accusation against Streamlabs, a subsidiary of peripheral manufacturer Logitech. The company is said to have launched a new product called “Streamlabs OBS.” The trademark rights had also been secured. The reaction from the OBS community was swift and loud:

“Shortly before the launch of SLOBS, Streamlabs contacted us regarding the use of the OBS name. We kindly asked them not to do so. They did so anyway and subsequently filed a trademark. We tried to work this out privately, and they were uncooperative at every turn.”

For the world of open source, this approach is unthinkable. After all, name similarity brings all sorts of problems. Especially when users go looking for support or specific applications, it only causes confusion. When dissatisfied users want to complain regarding Streamlabs OBS, annoying problems can also arise. After all, they understandably assume that there is a connection between the two providers. Given the fact that OBS is completely free, unlike Streamlabs OBS, one can understand the frustration of the OBS community.

“Volunteer supporters are sometimes confronted by angry users demanding refunds.”

No respect for idea to open source

By now, the open-source idea is considered almost like a religion on the World Wide Web. To disregard him is punished by the Internet community with lots of ridicule, hatred and malice. For this reason, OBS has been able to build up a loyal community of passionate users who stand behind the cause. The fact that they were not too pleased with Streamlabs OBS is quite understandable. Many of them assumed that OBS has now left the paths of the once advertised open source and finally wants to work commercially with Streamlabs OBS. Many streamers simply did not recognize any difference between the two services.

Not only very similar in name

If you take a closer look at the Logitech subsidiary’s application, it quickly becomes clear that it’s not just the name that’s “inspired” by OBS. The entire technical construct is quite obviously based on the open source program as well. When you consider that Streamlabs OBS has not shown any involvement in the OBS community in the past, the accusations weigh all the more heavily. Regarding this, the OBS community comments as follows:

“Legally they have complied with the terms of the GPL, but they have repeatedly disregarded the spirit of open source as well as of giving back.”

Just the tip of the iceberg

However, in the case of the clear “name theft”, it is only a case of misconduct that has come to light by chance. There are also other accusations that Streamlabs has to face. During the investigation, the OBS community first became aware of the similarity of the name. For example, the subsidiary is said to have used advertising material from another provider. Streamlabs has probably only slightly modified this and then circulated it as its own marketing material. In contrast to the trouble with OBS, Streamlabs has apologized to its competitor Lightstream for its misconduct, according to its own statements.

Update: Streamlabs wants to drop “OBS”

The attacks via social media certainly seem to have borne fruit. Thus, the OBS community has reached that Streamlabs would abandon the name suffix “OBS” in the future. A look at the website makes it clear that the company has indeed already put this into practice. The pressure was apparently too great. Finally, according to the colleagues from The Verge, some well-known streamers allied to make front against Streamlabs. Whether the OBS community will forget the misconduct so quickly, however, is more than questionable. The Internet never forgets.