Comments on news posted 2014-02-10 10:39:10: A federal court has granted T-Mobile a preliminary injunction against prepaid AT&T subsidiary AIO Wireless, blocking them from using the color magenta in marketing and claiming that the AIO's use of the color magenta intentionally confuses customers. ..
Down at my local Aio shop, we were told to toss pounds and pounds of card stock brochures and collateral when our prices dropped last week. We've already thrown lots of the purple stuff in the dumpster prior to that.
They've spent countless tens of thousands of dollars producing all this material in non-Magenta stuff that's just gonna end up in the landfill anyway when it becomes Cricket.
Capitalism: Where we sue each other and rape the Earth over different shades of pink and purple.
Remember, web developers, #e20074 belongs to T-Mobile. Whatever you do, don't put #e20074 in your web site design. Don't use it for the text color or the background color or in a single pixel of a single image. And don't use any color code even remotely similar to #e20074 lest T-Mobile think you are trying to get around their ban on #e20074 use.
Next up, Best Buy owns dark blue and yellow, Verizon Wireless owns red, and so on. To be safe, everyone should just make their backgrounds and text color white. That should steer clear of any color litigation.
Except that has nothing to do with what's going on, but uh, okay?
This is specifically about AT&T going after tmobile. Tmo has done some stupid things regarding attempt to own colors and so has every other company, but for once this situation is legally sound.
Apparently you didn't read this portion: (FYI, Engadget isn't in the wireless industry) "This isn't the first time T-Mobile has gotten sue happy over what they believe is their color, having threatened to sue Engadget back in 2008 for daring to use the color in a mobile website font."
everyone should just make their backgrounds and text color white
Think again. I own the color white. Have used it on the paper that I produced since I got tired of greenbar. Even use the color white when I print secret messages on the white paper I created.
Next on my target for a lawsuit is "White Out". They are infringing on my color.
Except that there are various shades of them and most are posted up with T-Mobile in big letters then some talk about phones following that. Humans are lazy, They see a color, they see T-Mobile, they see talk of phones. Marketing knows this, marketing is about manipulation or we would have it because humans natually gravitate towards things that are better.
This article (»www.theverge.com/2014/2/ ··· ess-over) shows the two logos next to each other. The AIO one isn't even remotely close to the T-Mobile one except that the color they used is vaguely similar (though much darker). Nobody would look at the AIO logo and think that was T-Mobile just because they used very similar colors.
Here are the logos next to each other. How is this too confusing?
This article (»www.theverge.com/2014/2/ ··· ess-over) shows the two logos next to each other. The AIO one isn't even remotely close to the T-Mobile one except that the color they used is vaguely similar (though much darker). Nobody would look at the AIO logo and think that was T-Mobile just because they used very similar colors.
Here are the logos next to each other. How is this too confusing?
It isn't confusing at all. Only a moron or a moron judge would confuse the 2.
Agreed.. This was AT&T's sad attempt to try and mock T-mobile just a little. Colors don't have to match 100% and either do words.. Could they not have simply gone blue, silver or even Green?
What I don't understand is why AT&T decides it has to spin off another wireless devision? Even their AIO does not offer such a great deal.. I was once a very happy AT&T wireless customer for about 8 years almost.. Yet, in the end, their deals just went sour to me.. Raise rates, offer less, expect customers to stay happy.. Just does not work well that way..
Verizon uses red. T-Mobile uses magenta. AiO (AT&T) tried to thread the needle by going between colors. However, the issue here is AiO's color scheme was designed to be on the edge of T-Mobile's scheme. Combine that with AiO advertising and comparing themselves to T-Mobile and there was an intent to deceive.
Verizon uses red. T-Mobile uses magenta. AiO (AT&T) tried to thread the needle by going between colors. However, the issue here is AiO's color scheme was designed to be on the edge of T-Mobile's scheme. Combine that with AiO advertising and comparing themselves to T-Mobile and there was an intent to deceive.
Only ones that would be deceived deserve to get deceived. do you know that red and yellow are the most popular fast foo colors? I guess McDonald's should sue everyone.
Apparently you didn't read this portion: (FYI, Engadget isn't in the wireless industry) "This isn't the first time T-Mobile has gotten sue happy over what they believe is their color, having threatened to sue Engadget back in 2008 for daring to use the color in a mobile website font."
Sometime in 2020:
Remember kids, if you see any magenta or red crayons, do not use them, or T-Mobile and Verizon may sue you! *prays to corporations*
Looks like someone didn't ready past the seconds sentence!
"AT&T likely isn't sweating the ruling too much, since they've already decided to scrap the AIO brand to instead use their recently-acquired Cricket and Leap brands to compete in the prepaid wireless space."
Nothing new, the USPS owns the color blue they use. The State of Michigan owns the color blue their state police cars are painted, and UPS owns the color brown. Colors are trade markable.
Of course they look different when posted right next to each other. It is very clear that AT&T was trying to make AIO look like T-Mobile in some of their marketing materials. T-Mobile is well known for being protective about the color magenta within the wireless industry.
AT&T played with fire on this one and got burnt. Not that it really matters, because AIO will be absorbed into Cricket at some point.