MtGox operator set to sell Bitcoin trademarks

The holding company of the stricken Bitcoin exchange MtGox is hoping to sell the trademarked word Bitcoin, according to the Wall Street Journal.

Tibanne is looking to raise around $1m from the sale, which would include the Bitcoin trademarks in Japan, the European Union and the Bitcoins.com domain name. The company's chief executive said they wanted to sell the rights because they had no use for them.

So far it is not clear whether the money raised from the sale will be used to pay back MtGox's creditors. The trademarks are set to expire in 2021 and 2022, in the EU and Japan respectively. However, both are renewable if certain fees are paid.

Tokyo-based Tibanne, was founded by MtGox CEO Mark Karpeles and describes itself as a specialist in "web hosting, application development, and system management.”

A spokeswomen for Japan's patent office told the Wall Street Journal that holders of the trademark could exercise the right of owning a word through suing anybody using it without permission, however, a claim's validity would have to be judged by a court.

In February, MtGox filed for bankruptcy protection in Tokyo and said it had an outstanding debt of $63m (£37m). The company is set to be liquidated in wake of a Japanese court ordering bankruptcy proceedings in April.