Handset manufacturer Sony Ericsson, who used to be a top dog thanks to their fantastic hardware designers, but after a string of expensive devices that ran out dated versions of Google’s Android operating system left a bad taste in many people’s mouths, is going after WiMAX operator Clearwire due to their logo being far too similar to their own. We admit, the similarities are definitely there, but none of us even noticed until we heard about the pending legal action. Are people really that dumb that they’ll confuse a company who makes mobile devices with one that offers 4G services on a variety of smartphones, dongles, and portable hotspots?
This case couldn’t come at a worse time for Clearwire. They’re in the red, are actively looking for investors to pump money into their vision of providing wholesale 4G internet access for anyone willing to sign up for that business model, and they’re even demonstrating that they’re looking at switching from WiMAX to LTE just so that they can provide their users with higher download and upload speeds. Sony Ericsson on the other hand has finally started making some money after they decided to chase the high tier consumer segment. No more mid range and low end devices from these guys anymore, it’s all about “iPhone Killers” from here on out.
What do you think? Is this case bogus and not worth the outrageous fees that lawyers on both sides will undoubtedly charge their clients? Or should this fight happen so that the village idiot doesn’t accidentally buy an HTC product that uses Sprint’s network when in reality all he wanted was a Sony Ericsson product from AT&T? We’re not big fans of lawyers here since they’re mostly used by technology firms to wage patent wars, but this is different. This is all about image.