Walking app drops the WalkNYC name and becomes Sidewalk after city trademark complaint

The walking app that New Yorkers knew as WalkNYC changed its name to Sidewalk on Thursday, after the city Department of Transportation accused it of trademark infringement and demanded a new name.

Why the WalkNYC app had to change its name

WalkNYC is also the name of the department’s own wayfinding program, which puts maps and directions for pedestrians, cyclists and transit riders in busy public places such as subway stations and near Citi Bike docks. In July, the agency sent the app’s developer, Joe Puccio, a cease-and-desist letter saying the name infringed on that trademark.

The letter said the app had confused locals and visitors and suggested it was connected to the City of New York. It told Puccio to stop using the WalkNYC branding, shut down the website and app, and remove promotional materials online and in print. The app had used colors and a walking-person icon that resembled the city program’s. A department spokesperson pointed to an August statement in which the agency said it appreciated how much New Yorkers love walking and wanted to avoid confusion with its program.

The switch is part of a deal between the city and the developer that is not yet final, according to Law Department spokesperson Nick Paolucci. “We have a settlement in principle and we expect a final resolution in the coming days,” he said.

Puccio declined to discuss the settlement before it is final. In a statement, he said the new name came naturally because walking is the best way to explore the city.

What stays the same in the Sidewalk app

Apart from the new name, the app’s look seems largely unchanged, and the little figure of a person walking is still its logo. Two intellectual property lawyers said the new name likely satisfies the city’s main demand. “It changes the overall commercial impression such that potential confusion is less likely,” said Tracy Jong, a senior attorney at Evans Fox LLP. Stacy Grossman, founder of the firm SGIP, noted that the city holds no trademark registrations for Sidewalk and that other walking apps already use similar icons. She said the change should settle the issue as long as the app does not otherwise suggest a link to the city.

The app arrived on Apple’s App Store in May. It marks every block a user walks on a digital map, tracks mileage and walking time, and ranks users on a leaderboard. After the letter came, Puccio added a prompt asking users to tell the department why they use the app, and he said more than 1,000 people responded.