What you need to know
- Dbrand released a new phone skin and case called "Something."
- The new phone skin looks extremely similar to the Nothing phone (1) which Dbrand has made clear they know.
- Dbrand also makes clear that it did not "steal" anything, it's only "creatively reinterpreted" a design.
Dbrand can come with products that show greatness and include a joke in one breath. Its latest release is the "Something" skin and it is strikingly similar to the Nothing phone (1).
The skin and case creator company's tagline for this new Something skin is: "it's better than nothing." This is very clearly a direct jab at the Nothing phone (1) and they continue this trend by stepping on some of the phone's shortcomings.
The skin's page features a couple of short blurbs to pique one's interest in the new product. Dbrand begins the round with, "imagine trying to break into the smartphone market. Turns out, having less money than Apple makes it a little difficult." Dbrand is nothing if not a company with its finger on the pulse. It is also acutely aware of why the Nothing phone (1) isn't coming to the U.S.
Dbrand's Something skin is available for the iPhone 13 Pro Max, Pixel 6 Pro, and Galaxy S22 Ultra. So, they've hit some of the best smartphones with this skin, or case, product. Comparing the look of Dbrand's skin and the Nothing phone (1), one would see a striking resemblance - and they've shown they know it.
The company continues with the idea of plagiarism. It knows that people could say they stole another company's design but as its rebuttal goes, "we stole nothing." That could be seen as a sentence with a double meaning considering the skin's design and previous statements made by Dbrand.
Dbrand's statement that "plagiarism is not a crime" is one piece of the pie. According to Cornell Law School, "plagiarism is not illegal in the United States in most situations." However, the law school goes on to explain that "plagiarism can warrant legal action if it infringes upon the original author's copyright, patent, or trademark."
Android Central has reached out to Nothing for a comment but did not immediately get a response.
