Hacker News Reader

Comment by mendelk | Hacker News Reader

For those curious, based on the CSS on their respective websites, they aren't _exactly_ the same HEX color, just pretty similar.

(Lemonade is #ff0083, while T-Mobile is #e20074. Comparison here: https://www.colorcombos.com/combotester.html?color0=e20074&c...)

View on HN

These claims generally aren't based on hex colors, they're based on Pantone swatches. There's some leeway on how those swatches are converted to RGB.

Is this really what companies worry about? An insurance (edit: ha, I thought it was a beverage company until I read another comment) company is using a similar colour as our telecommunications company so let's get lawyers involved?

Yes, they do.

Lots of companies trademark their brand colors. UPS has a particular shade of brown.

There are others, including 3M, Barbie pink, the yellow of a Wiffle Ball bat, and Cadbury purple.

Cadbury lost that courtcase though https://inews.co.uk/news/consumer/cadbury-purple-trademark-c...

Lemonade is an insurance company.

You're from Germany by any chance?

I think that in Lemonade german site, they changed the color to a darker pink (probably until the issue with T-mobile is finished)

Well, based on a 2017 version of their site in archive.org, their 'pink' is rgb(214, 0, 109) while T-Mobile's current pink is rgb(226, 0, 116). Not the same, but as a graphic designer, I think they'd be visually indistinguishable for most people unless comparing bordering swatches.

But fuck T-Mobile though. Magenta is a primary color in most types of print. That they can somehow stop other people from using it is bullshit.

In the late 90's, early 2000's, they aggressively tried to intimidate each and everyone using the letter T for any marketing purposes.

I was surprised Apple didn't crack down harder on non-Apple iTech. That was legitimately confusing.

Apple got away with stealing the name OS9 from Microware so they were not really a position to sue others over similar names without getting their own court testimony from the earlier trial thrown back at them.

They weren't first (imode, Cisco IPhone, iriver).

I'm not from Germany, but I did notice that they changed the color for the German site. My comparison is to the American site.

Still pretty close.

pretty close?

Where's the line then?

The line is where a judge or jury decides it is.

I don't see the reason why you get downvoted.

The laws are made by the lawmakers (congress, parliaments, etc.)

Justice is there as the supreme/ultimate power to resolve issues between parties. We can't go around smashing heads because "my colour/your colour". When two parties have an issue that cannot be resolved amicably (I don't mean crimes), then Justice gets to say the final word. We live in a civilized world.

Not sure where the line is, but this is a case that's far too close IMO because the shades here change depending on screen type more than they are different from one another.

Amusingly I have 2 LCD monitors here, an acer and a samsung, and when I put Tmobile on the Samsung and Lemonade on the Acer, the colors look functionally identical to the naked eye.

Case closed :)

Reply on news.ycombinator.com