According to Law.com, Deutsche Telekom has attempted to prevent
book publishing web site my-favourite-book.com using the colour
magenta on its recently launched site. The telecom giant reportedly
sent a warning letter to the German publishing site alleging that
by using the colour magenta it had infringed the company’s
registered trade mark.
Deutsche Telekom’s argument is based on the possibility that
members of the public would mistakenly believe that the web site
had a connection with the company owing to the predominance of
magenta. A spokesman for the company Peter Kespohl said:
"We have registered the colour magenta as a trade mark in the
telecom and on-line services sector. We have to go after infringers
to protect this trademark."
In response, Utz Karpenstein of my-favourite-book.com told
Law.com that no action had been taken to comply with the company’s
letter and that there was no intention to do so. The web site
continues to operate its services for writers who wish to publish
their own works and sell them on-line. However, at the time of
writing, the site is using green, not magenta.
