HTC sues Samsung in fight over Inspire 4G's trademark
updated 12:45 pm EDT, Fri March 25, 2011
HTC sues Samsung to keep Inspire 4G name
HTC as part of a lawsuit against Samsung (below) asked a Seattle court on Wednesday to make a declaratory judgment giving it the right to use the Inspire 4G trademark. The move was a response to a Samsung letter arguing that the Android phone violated its "Inspiration" trademark for cellphones. HTC argued both that it wouldn't cause confusion and that Samsung hadn't bothered to challenge the Inspire trademark at the USPTO before it was approved on March 8.
The filing doesn't ask for punitive damages against Samsung other than asking it to pay court costs.
In the US, the Inspiration name hasn't been used by Samsung for years. HTC unveiled the Inspire 4G at CES in January and isn't believed to have heard any public objection from Samsung before the phone went on sale. Samsung may have waited until the product was commercially available to act so it could claim financial damages, however.
Neither HTC nor Samsung has discussed the lawsuit. Most companies typically avoid these discussions. [thanks to Florian Mueller]
