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Deutsche Telekom / T-Mobile demands Engadget Mobile discontinue using the color magenta


So last week Deutsche Telekom, owners of the global T-Mobile brand, sent Engadget a late birthday present: a hand-delivered letter direct from their German legal department requesting the prompt discontinuation of the use of the color magenta on Engadget Mobile. Yep, seriously.

Granted, we get nastygrams from angry tech companies practically every day, but rarely regarding anything that's not some piece of news we published that they're livid about having out in the open. And irony of ironies, this whole use-of-magenta thing is precisely the topic we took up last year on behalf of DT.

We spoke with David Beigie, vice president of corporate communications for T-Mobile US, who offered: "As a trademark owner, from time to time Deutsche Telekom looks at usage that could lead to confusion in the marketplace. The letter sent by DT merely outlines these perspectives and is meant to simply open a dialogue. Engadget continues to pioneer forums for discussion of wireless industry developments and innovation. T-Mobile respects the role Engadget and its readers play in advancing dialog on these important topics."

So in the interest of that open dialog we've posted Deutsche Telekom's letter below, as well as a handy guide to allay any confusion should you suddenly find yourself disoriented and trying to buy your next SideKick or MDA from Engadget Mobile.

P.S. -Not an early April Fool's joke.

Update: We went magenta! More here.


Deutsche Telekom

Engadget Mobile

Cellphone carrier

Yep

No

Distributor of telecom equipment

Yep

No

Likely to be mistaken for T-Mobile / Deutsch Telekom

We certainly hope so

No

Former state-owned monopoly

Yep

No

Has something against US 3G

Apparently

No

Has more than five friends

Might not anymore

Yep


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