Clearwire no longer planning phones; Sony Ericsson drops lawsuit

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