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November 5, 2019 10:10 pm

T-Mobile Says It Owns Exclusive Rights To the Color Magenta

An anonymous reader quotes a report from AdAge: Startup insurance provider Lemonade is trying to make the best of a sour situation after T-Mobile parent Deutsche Telekom claimed it owns the exclusive rights to the color magenta. New York-based Lemonade is a 3-year-old company that lives completely online and mostly focuses on homeowners and renter's insurance. The company uses a similar color to magenta -- it says it's "pink" -- in its marketing materials and its website. But Lemonade was told by German courts that it must cease using its color after launching its services in that country, which is also home to T-Mobile owner Deutsche Telekom. Although the ruling only applies in Germany, Lemonade says it fears the decision will set a precedent and expand to other jurisdictions such as the U.S. or Europe. "If some brainiac at Deutsche Telekom had invented the color, their possessiveness would make sense," Daniel Schreiber, CEO and co-founder of Lemonade, said in a statement. "Absent that, the company's actions just smack of corporate bully tactics, where legions of lawyers attempt to hog natural resources -- in this case a primary color -- that rightfully belong to everyone." A spokesman for Deutsche Telekom confirmed that it "asked the insurance company Lemonade to stop using the color magenta in the German market," while adding that the "T" in "Deutsche Telekom" is registered to the brand. "Deutsche Telekom respects everyone's trademark rights but expects others to do the same," the spokesman said in an emailed statement to Ad Age. The report says Lemonade has complied with the ruling by removing its pink color from marketing materials in Germany. It's also trying to open up a larger discussion on the legal matter by using the hashtag "#FreeThePink," although it's gained little traction thus far. Lemonade also filed a motion today with the European Union Intellectual Property Office, or EUIPO, to invalidate Deutsche Telekom's magenta trademark, and they released a color chart with which it asserts are the hues at issue.

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