The trade mark belongs to the company Bolt Technology OÜ and is protected for various goods and services (software, scooters, food products, sales, financial and insurance services, vehicle repairs, transportation, energy production, education, catering, labor leasing, legal services).
Bolt’s Global Communications Manager, Karin Kase, refers to Bolt as a super app that simultaneously offers multiple services such as ride-hailing, scooter and electric bike rentals, car rentals, and food delivery.
Markus Villig founded the business, which was first known as Taxify for the first five years. The company underwent a rebranding in 2019 because its name was no longer suitable. The term Taxify expressly related to the fact that it was initially a platform for taxi dispatch. However, within five years, the company had become a transportation platform that also rented electric scooters, motorcycles, and tuk-tuks in Africa. It became evident that a new name was needed for the new services. The goal was to have a name that symbolized fast and convenient movement. In English, “bolt” means a lightning bolt, which Kase stated perfectly reflected their vision for the future – movement in the city should be fast. By that time, the company had already expanded to 30 countries, so the name change was a significant challenge. They had to update the entire app, all websites, and advertisements.
Kase acknowledges that the trade mark is one of Bolt’s most valuable assets: “Registering the trade mark allows us to control who and how our trade mark is used and prevent its misuse. As Bolt operates in 45 countries worldwide, we have trade mark registrations in many countries and also in the European Union.” Kase adds that introducing new products in a country where Bolt is already present becomes much easier. People are already familiar with the trade mark, and we have an existing customer base within the app.
Visit the Estonian Patent Office blog (only in Estonian) to learn more about the trade mark.