YOU might have thought that you’d be on to a safe bet to put the name Oxford into the title of a new city business.

Not so for John Moore, who received a letter from a California multinational to inform him only they had the right to use “Oxford Powerhouse”.

The 73-year-old said he will now push ahead with his West Oxford plan for city graduates to work together under the name “Oxford Energy Powerhouse”.

Los Angeles-based software firm Unicom Global contacted him to say he cannot use the name.

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Ex-lawyer Mr Moore, who hails from California, said he will aim to “turn a negative into a positive”.

The North Oxford resident said: “They have a registered trademark called Powerhouse and they objected to the use of the word Oxford in front of it.

“They wanted me to do a lot of paperwork but I said I would just give up the trademark.”

He is hoping to open a centre for postgraduates to start businesses on the corner of Osney Mead and Ferry Hinksey Road.

He has already had discussions with Oxford University, which owns the site, currently used by gas company Calor.

He said: “I really want to see this built. The whole idea behind the building is that it is for collaboration. I think the biggest benefit is that it is a place where you can apply the technology which is coming out of Oxford – and Oxford University is a number-one brand in the world.”

Mr Moore said he has also contacted Unicom Global asking it to donate towards the proposals but has not heard back.

Oxford University spokesman Matt Pickles said: “We are aware of his proposals but nothing has been agreed.”

Unicom Global did not respond to the Oxford Mail’s request for a comment.

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