T-Mobile claims ownership of colour magenta, sues AT&T in the process

Once upon a time, AT&T had tried to buy T-Mobile USA, but that eventually failed due to competition laws. T-Mobile has now taken the odd route of suing its former bedfellow after its subsidiary used the colour magenta.

According to the lawsuit, which was filed in a Texan court (a state favoured by patent trolls), T-Mobile and its parent company Deutsche Telekom say they want “injunctive and monetary relief” from AT&T’s subsidiary AIO.

AIO was set up this year as a counterattack to T-Mobile’s new service which didn’t require a two-year contract, at least according to T-Mobile.

T-Mobile claims that its parent company is famous for the colour magenta, and that it even owns a trademark on it — meaning that AIO has violated that trademark, one that T-Mobile USA is licensed to use.

An AIO spokesman responded to AllThingsD claiming that “T-Mobile needs an art lesson.”

We can’t help but feel that AIO’s colour is a little more purplish than T-Mobile’s, but we’ll have to see how this plays out in court.

Source: Wired