We’ve been following T-Mobile parent company Deutsch Telekom’s quest to patent the color Magenta for several weeks now.
Well, they got it. Color No. 395 52 630, also known as magenta, is now a registered DT trademark, along with T-Mobile’s two color logo.
According to Colour Lovers, since DT trademarked magenta in the tele-communications sector it means that T-Mobile could shout copyright infringement on anyone using that specific pantone in digital media, and that means internet.
Whether DT would actually would force a lawsuit on a web company who prominently featured the color magenta in its logo, is another story. And whether they would win that lawsuit is something else entirely.
Color makes the world bright, dark, lovely, sad: we believe color should be free to all. Imagine trying to enjoy a fire in your hearth with half the colors censored, a sunset with black bars stamped across the sky…
That said, this is not the first time a company has trademarked a color. Tiffany’s has their blue, UPS has brown.
There is hardly ever a spat unless a direct competitor tries to appropriate the shade, i.e. a German wireless provider deciding to prominently feature Color No. 395 52 630 in their logo would piss off DT.
This is by no means a cause to panic, however, you can make your voice heard:
Contribute to a petition to reclaim magenta and submit your magenta photos to Flickr.
