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Citigroup (C) Sues AT&T for Infringing 'ThankYou' Trademark
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Ever thought saying ‘ThankYou’ could land you in trouble? Well, this is actually happening.
Citigroup Inc. (C - Free Report) is suing the telecom major AT&T, Inc. (T - Free Report) for trademark infringement. The bank alleged that AT&T’s use of the trademarks ‘thanks’ and ‘AT&T thanks’ infringes upon the former’s trademarks including ‘ThankYou’ and ‘Citi ThankYou’.
Details
Per the lawsuit filed in the U.S. District Court, Southern District of New York (Manhattan), AT&T announced its new appreciation program ‘AT&T thanks’ for its customers on Jun 2, despite being aware of Citigroup’s use of related trademarks. Since 2004, the banking giant has been using ‘ThankYou’ trademark in a customer loyalty program, with approximately 15 million members in the country.
The bank claims, “For many years, Citigroup has used trademarks consisting of and/or containing the term THANKYOU, including THANKYOU, CITI THANKYOU, CITIBUSINESS THANKYOU. THANKYOU FROM CITI, and THANKYOU YOUR WAY, in connection with a variety of customer loyalty, reward, incentive and redemption programs (collectively, the “THANKYOU Marks”).”
Citigroup further stated that it has a co-branded credit card with AT &T, the AT&T Universal Card that gives ‘ThankYou’ reward points to its user based on the amount spent. Moreover, AT&T’s trademark designs have similar fonts and word placements. So, AT&T’s new program is bound to confuse costumers.
Therefore, Citigroup wants the court order to stop AT&T from using the terms. Apart from this order, Citigroup also seeks unspecified damages.
Nevertheless, AT&T plans to counter Citigroup’s allegations. The company spokesperson Fletcher Cook in an email said, “This may come as a surprise to Citigroup, but the law does not allow one company to own the word ‘thanks. We’re going to continue to say thanks to our customers.”
Going Forward
Though hearing date is not yet fixed, this court room battle is expected to continue for a while.
Profitability from card business generally outpaces others. Hence, banks are boosting their card operations by getting more people to open accounts and use their cards on a regular basis and Citigroup is no different. The company has been trying to improve its card operations as other avenues for top line growth are facing several challenges.
Currently, both Citigroup and AT&T carry a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold). Some better-ranked finance stocks include SEI Investments Co. (SEIC - Free Report) and PrivateBancorp, Inc. . Both these companies hold a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy).
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Citigroup (C) Sues AT&T for Infringing 'ThankYou' Trademark
Ever thought saying ‘ThankYou’ could land you in trouble? Well, this is actually happening.
Citigroup Inc. (C - Free Report) is suing the telecom major AT&T, Inc. (T - Free Report) for trademark infringement. The bank alleged that AT&T’s use of the trademarks ‘thanks’ and ‘AT&T thanks’ infringes upon the former’s trademarks including ‘ThankYou’ and ‘Citi ThankYou’.
Details
Per the lawsuit filed in the U.S. District Court, Southern District of New York (Manhattan), AT&T announced its new appreciation program ‘AT&T thanks’ for its customers on Jun 2, despite being aware of Citigroup’s use of related trademarks. Since 2004, the banking giant has been using ‘ThankYou’ trademark in a customer loyalty program, with approximately 15 million members in the country.
The bank claims, “For many years, Citigroup has used trademarks consisting of and/or containing the term THANKYOU, including THANKYOU, CITI THANKYOU, CITIBUSINESS THANKYOU. THANKYOU FROM CITI, and THANKYOU YOUR WAY, in connection with a variety of customer loyalty, reward, incentive and redemption programs (collectively, the “THANKYOU Marks”).”
Citigroup further stated that it has a co-branded credit card with AT &T, the AT&T Universal Card that gives ‘ThankYou’ reward points to its user based on the amount spent. Moreover, AT&T’s trademark designs have similar fonts and word placements. So, AT&T’s new program is bound to confuse costumers.
Therefore, Citigroup wants the court order to stop AT&T from using the terms. Apart from this order, Citigroup also seeks unspecified damages.
Nevertheless, AT&T plans to counter Citigroup’s allegations. The company spokesperson Fletcher Cook in an email said, “This may come as a surprise to Citigroup, but the law does not allow one company to own the word ‘thanks. We’re going to continue to say thanks to our customers.”
Going Forward
Though hearing date is not yet fixed, this court room battle is expected to continue for a while.
Profitability from card business generally outpaces others. Hence, banks are boosting their card operations by getting more people to open accounts and use their cards on a regular basis and Citigroup is no different. The company has been trying to improve its card operations as other avenues for top line growth are facing several challenges.
Currently, both Citigroup and AT&T carry a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold). Some better-ranked finance stocks include SEI Investments Co. (SEIC - Free Report) and PrivateBancorp, Inc. . Both these companies hold a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy).
Want the latest recommendations from Zacks Investment Research? Today, you can download 7 Best Stocks for the Next 30 Days. Click to get this free report >>