OnePlus sued over trademark infringement
Below is a press release regarding the lawsuit filed this morning for trademark infringement.
The short version appears to be that a company named Bragi owns a trademark on “THE DASH.” They’re claiming that their trademark is being infringed by OnePlus’s Dash Charge.
It’s basically a protective move by Bragi – you sue or you lose it. If you’re not familiar with Bragi, they make some fairly spendy wireless products.
My guess is they’ll be vilified by the OnePlus community and others will see it as a promotional stunt, but really it’s just what you gotta do to maintain that TM when a company won’t rename.
Below is edited slightly for formatting because cutting and pasting it screwed everything up. Here’s the original PDF if you want it.
Bragi files action against OnePlus for infringement of THE DASH Trademark
Munich, 21. September 2018 – Nikolaj Hviid, CEO of Bragi GmbH, today announced that the Company has filed a complaint in the European Union alleging intentional infringement of Bragi registered trademarks, in addition to the ongoing litigation in the United States District Court for the Northern District of California. The American action alleges that Chinese phone and wireless earphone manufacturer OnePlus infringes Bragi’s THE DASH trademark. The World’s First Hearable®, incorporates the innovative Dash Charger to act as both a charger and battery supply. The worldwide acceptance of the amazing technoogy of The Dash has been amplified by Bragi’s The Dash Pro® and
The Dash Pro tailored by Starkey Hearing Technologies. The complaint alleges that OnePlus’ Dash Charge infringes Bragi’s THE DASH trademark.
Both the United States Patent and Trademark Office and the European Union Intellectual Property Office have denied OnePlus’ attempts to register their own Dash Charge trademark, finding that its use would cause confusion among consumers in view of Bragi’s THE DASH trademark. Mr. Hviid is adamant:
“This action is part of our continuing efforts to protect the Company’s valuable intellectual property. We previously warned OnePlus to stop infringing our trademark, and regret that we have to bring this action to enforce our intellectual property rights. Their intentional infringement of our trademarks cannot and will not be tolerated. These actions by OnePlus threaten all companies who legitimately develop and obtain intellectual property”.
About Bragi
Bragi was founded in 2013 and went live a year later on the crowdfunding platform Kickstarter. With 15,998 backers who contributed over $3.3 million (USD), Bragi has evolved from a promising start up to a market moving creator of innovative
technology, opening the new category of Hearables and Truly Wireless Smart Earphones: The Dash®.
In 2018, Bragi launched software services and solutions utilizing Bragi Intelligent Edge™, and nanoAI™ enabling partners to efficiently embed Artificial Intelligence on Internet of Things devices.
Bragi GmbH Sendlinger Str.7 / Angerblock, 80331 Munich, Germany
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