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T-Mobile Seems to Think It Owns the Color Pink

Lawyers representing T-Mobile owner Deutsche Telekom are once again taking aim at a company for using the color pink (or magenta, if you prefer). The BBC notes that the company's lawyers have opposed a trademark application by Brighton-based company dataJAR, because the color used in its logo happens to be similar to the color traditionally used in T-Mobile branding. The company says it has been using this branding since 2013, and doesn't think much of T-Mobile and Deutsche Telekom's efforts to own a color.

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After an application in January the company was issued with a "cease and desist" order from T-Mobile's parent company.

"They have trademarked one shade and in fact I believe... the one they have trademarked isn't the one they are using," said the managing director of the firm. "You can't own a colour, it's ridiculous," he added.

"You can copyright a colour [but] what you do have to do is trademark a recognised colour using the pantone standard," the company's lawyer corrected. "The point [Mr Ridsdale] makes is quite right, it's only that tone of colour as defined in the way that is described."

This isn't T-Mobile's first attempt at trying to own a color. The company also threatened legal action against AT&T in 2013 after the company happened to use the color magenta in the logo for its now defunct AIO Wireless MVNO. The company also threatened Engadget back in 2008 for daring to use the color in a website font.


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mmmdonuts
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join:2011-02-28
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mmmdonuts

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In before rants against Legere...

Is it worth pointing out this is a Deutsche Telekom action in Europe and not a T-Mobile action in the US?

Edit:
...or not. Too late.