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Microsoft has been told that it cannot trademark the name of its Skype internet phone service – because it sounds too similar to Sky.

The General Court of the European Union has ruled that Skype's name and bubble-shaped logo cannot be registered as a trademark.

It said that the name was too similar to the name registered by the British Sky Broadcasting Corporation.

The court said the logo for Skype (left) would add to confusion as it looked like clouds which could be found in the sky. The sound of the name also was ruled to sound too similar to the name used by the broadcaster (right)

The ruling is the latest in a long running battle between the two companies that dates back to 2005.

In 2012 the Office for Harmonisation of Internal Markets upheld a complaint by Sky over Skype's trademark application and Microsoft then appealed to the EU court.

Microsoft was also forced to change the name of its cloud storage service from SkyDrive to OneDrive in 2014 after the High Court in London ruled Sky's trademark had been infringed.

In a ruling on the latest dispute, judges at the General Court of the European Union said the 'y' in Skype was no shorter than the 'y' in Sky.

They also said that as the world sky remains clearly identifiable in the word 'skype', and so could be confused.

They added that the bubble-like logo would only add to the confusion.

The ruling said: 'Conceptually, the figurative element conveys no concept, except that of a cloud.

'(That) would further increase the likelihood of the element "Sky" being recognised within the world element "Skype", for clouds are to be found in the sky and thus may readily be associated with the word sky.'

Sky said it initially raised objections to the application by Skype to register its trademark as the company had been preparing to offer services that strayed into areas already covered by Sky, including TV and broadband products.

However, following the judgement Sky has not ruled out now raising a challenge to Microsoft's continued use of Skype for its existing service. 

The court ruled that word 'sky' in Skype's brand name could be too easily confused with the broadcaster Sky. Rupert Murdoch's company challenged the trademark application after Skype threatened to move into TV

Sky's logo looks very different from the bubble-shaped one used by Skype, but judges at the court ruled that the Skype logo could still lead to confusion between the two brands and so could not be given a trademark

A spokesman for Sky said: 'This relates to a long-running dispute with Skype over the extension of its trade mark applications to cover a broad range of goods and services that overlap with Sky's own trade mark registrations.

'Our intention has been to protect the Sky brand with our research showing that similarities in name and logo have the potential to confuse customers.'

Microsoft, which bought Skype for $9.4 billion four years ago, has said it now intends to appeal against the court's decision but insists that it is not going to rebrand the internet phone service.

Speaking to BBC News, a spokesman for Microsoft said: 'The case was not a legal challenge to Skype's use of the mark, it was only against the registration.

'We're confident that no confusion exists between these brands and services, and will appeal.

'This decision does not require us to alter product names in any way.'