Dive Brief:
- The Blue Cross and Blue Shield Association and Zoom+ have settled their dispute over Zoom's alleged trademark infringement via the use of a blue cross for its logo, the Portland Business Journal reported.
- The complaint, which Blue Cross had brought in 2015, was dismissed July 13 by a U.S. District Judge in Seattle after the attorneys reported the matter to be resolved.
- No details were immediately available regarding the settlement.
Dive Insight:
Blue Cross had argued its marks to be "an asset of incalculable value,” among the most recognized in the health industry or any industry in the U.S., and that Zoom's adoption of a similar blue cross logo could result in “confusion, mistake and deception in the public mind,” the Portland Business Journal first reported in October 2015.
Blue Cross Blue Shield companies currently cover one in three Americans around the U.S., while Zoom+ serves as a local startup operating 25 clinics around Portland and Seattle and a health plan in Oregon, with a membership reported in May of 2,500.
Zoom+ has been in a state of expansion, announcing new services in 2016 including on-demand imaging and on-demand access to specialists, and in 2015 services including a new pediatric care system and a "super clinic" alternative to emergency care.
At the same time, Zoom+ has fielded criticism over its "cherrypicking" of patients by marketing to millenials and not accepting Medicare, Medicaid and Tricare patients.