Remember the little lawsuit Sony Ericsson filed against Clearwire? Nope? You're better off for it. SE had filed suit in January, claiming Clearwire's logo looked a little too familiar, and it would cause confusion after Clearwire announced its plan to release its own smartphones. But there's a happy ending.
Over the past year, Sony Ericsson grew concerned that Clearwire's logos were moving progressively closer to Sony Ericsson's registered logo. Since Clearwire also previously announced it would enter the field of mobile devices by launching a smartphone, Sony Ericsson brought the litigation in January 2011 and sought a preliminary injunction against Clearwire to prohibit its further use of the logos. In response, Clearwire represented to the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia that it had no present intention to launch a smartphone. This representation effectively provided Sony Ericsson with much of the emergency relief it sought.
So everybody's kissed and made up. Clearwire's no longer planning on releasing any phones on its own (or so it told a federal court in Virginia), and Sony Ericsson's dropping the whole thing. But SE leaves a warning for anyone who dares to tread on its logo in the future: "Sony Ericsson remains focused on preventing consumer confusion and protecting its trademarks, especially in the field of mobile devices."
Indeed. Let us all get on with our weekends, shall we?
Source: Sony Ericsson
Reader comments
Clearwire no longer planning phones; Sony Ericsson drops lawsuit
Wow, seriously Sony? Those logos look plenty different. Look what happened to you when you sued Geo Hot.... your PSN has been drop kicked for the past month.
Silly Sony
There is very individuality in logo design these days. Look at all the companies that adopted the Nike-style "swoosh" after it became popular. You don't see Nike filing lawsuits everywhere. Get over yourself SE, you both have logos based on a circle and there is where the similarity and the confusion should end. Geez!
This also translates as, "We now know that Clearwire *can't* make a smartphone or respond to our lawsuit because they don't have any money."
I actually got a pack of napkins from a walgreens last year that had a pattern that looked exactly like clear's logo. Wish I remembered the brand. Clear should have sued the company that made those napkins.
You know, your internet handle ends with an "n" as does mine. Expect to be served... ;-P
Not if I serve you first buddy for your infringements!
Clear needs to stop worrying about phones and start worrying about getting this Wimax thing up to near LTE speeeds. That would be nice.
Only Helen Keller couldn't see the difference in these logo's. While I'm not a fan of Clear and their dumbcrap Wimax, this just seems to be bullying on SE's part.