Recently, Engadget, one of the most esteemed web blogs on everything to do with technology, was asked in a very professional manner from Deutsche Telekom (owners of T-Mobile in the US) to discontinue the use of the colour magenta for their mobile sister-site Engadget Mobile. Yup.
This
"As you are likely aware, Deutsche Telekom and its whole group, including the T-Mobile companies worldwide have been using the color magenta as a company identifier and core branding element for many years. The company therefore holds trademark protection for the use of this color in connection with its products and services in many territories around the world."
While this is completely ridiculous and out-of-the-blue, there is SOME (but not too much) justification for DT's act. In addition to the use of magenta, EngadgeT-Mobile, also deploys vertical dots that somewhat resemble the horizontal dots on the T-Mobile logo. The letter states that this is a required act so as to "avoid any possible confusion with the consumer regarding the origin or sponsorship of [the] blog". While it is DT's responsibility to protect their trademarks, given the circumstances, this is pure ludicrous (and laughably good entertainment). There IS no possible confusion for a web blog and a 3G GSM-based US Wireless Carrier.
In response to the ridiculous act from DT, Engadget literally plastered their main site and sister-site with the colour magenta. This tomfoolery lead to the support from other mobile blogs including Phone Scoop, Phone Arena, Fitch, and Gearbits (although they've been brought down due to an understanding server bandwidth influx). Ryan Block, editor-in-chief of Engadget, created his own image in support of Engadget, which was quickly picked up by the rest of the gadget community.
Priceless.
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