Posted on 03-31-2008 under Art & Design

So last week Deutsche Telekom, owners of the global T-Mobile brand, sent Engadget a late birthday present: a hand-delivered letter direct from their German legal department requesting the prompt discontinuation of the use of the color magenta on Engadget Mobile. Yep, seriously. Read more…

T-Mobile, old buddy. Listen, you gotta pick your fights. UPS Brown? I would sue for UPS Brown. Marlboro Red? Oh, Absolutely. Sue for Marlboro Red. Owens Corning Pink? (Think fiberglass insulation, only one company can make it pink.) Yeah, Owens Corning Pink is definitely worth it. But T-Mobile Magenta? Is T-Mobile Magenta really worth a lawsuit? Even if we were to falsely assume that there are only 256 colors in the world, I would just let T-Mobile Magenta go. Does anybody like Magenta? Suing for a color? Brilliant. Suing for Magenta? Come on… Maybe if it were Magenta’s evil twin sister, Rhodamine Red, this would be a different story.

I kid around but actually T-Mobile’s sometimes excessive use of Magenta is just as widely recognizable as UPS’s sometimes excessive use of the color brown. Like UPS’s use of Brown, it stands out in their industry and they have a right to protect that. At this point, T-Mobile’s unique image would ultimately become diluted and tarnished if others not associated with T-Mobile were allowed to actively use Magenta.

The complaint against Engadget is plausible. It would be impossible to get away with saying that the color Magenta isn’t widely recognized as an integral part of T-Mobile’s brand. Trademarking a color may seem silly, but it’s certainly a protection under trademark law. I’ll mention UPS Brown once again. It’s trademarked. A candy bar company can use UPS Brown all they want, but if FedEx decided to start painting their trucks UPS Brown, they’d be in a heap of trouble.

(Note: While I’m on the UPS topic, look back on my furious posting about the UPS logo “modernization.”)

The argument in many places across the web is that EngadgeT-Mobile doesn’t create confusion or dilution because EngadgeT-Mobile doesn’t sell wireless phones, devices, or wireless service. It’s really not that simple. The site is a powerful commentator on the wireless industry that profits off consumers in that industry, so by using the elements (colors) of T-Mobile it could be argued that they are showing their website is endorsed by T-Mobile.

It’s easy to have sympathy for the little guy when they are faced with a large corporation, a corporation which I’m sure countless people hate because of billing errors, late fees, and spotty service. Set aside your differences with T-Mobile, and let’s review just what Engadget really is. This is not a little blog with only a couple dozen followers, it’s one of the top 2 or 3 tech blogs out there. The writers on the site make a living off of it, this isn’t their hobby. They make a profit off of advertising dollars. Now they’re specifically profiting in the cell phone industry, and that’s why T-Mobile is definitely not out of line asking them to stop using the color.

By the way, from the T-Mobile website:

T-MOBILE, the T-MOBILE logo, T-ZONES, the T-ZONES design, the HOTSPOT design, T-MOBILE MDA, T-MOBILE SDA, T-MOBILEWEB, the WORLDCLASS logo, the “digits” design, the T-MOBILE acoustic logo, and the color magenta are registered and/or unregistered trademarks of Deutsche Telekom AG in the US and/or other countries.

By the way, I totally own the hex color #00467D. So don’t use it.