By Kathy Chu
Milk Studios, a photography and media company, filed a lawsuit
in the U.S. against Samsung Electronics Co., alleging trademark
infringement by the South Korean technology giant's music-streaming
service and mobile application.
The complaint, filed Monday in the U.S. District Court of the
Southern District of New York, alleges that Samsung "intentionally,
willfully and knowingly" used the Milk name for its music-streaming
services to take advantage of the "cachet" associated with Milk
Studios, a more than 15-year-old multimedia studio based out of New
York and Los Angeles.
Milk Studios is seeking an unspecified amount of damages for
what it called unfair competition and trademark dilution. The
company, which started as a photography venue, is used for fashion
shows by designers like Tom Ford and for music recording, video
production or listening sessions by artists such as Kanye West.
Samsung declined to comment on the complaint.
The development is another headache for Samsung as it seeks to
expand its software and services to better compete with Apple Inc.
and Google Inc. Samsung has been hiring engineers to develop its
own platform and applications for mobile devices, wearables and
other consumer electronics as it seeks to differentiate itself.
Milk Music, which Samsung debuted in March, is one of its latest
initiatives. It allows its Galaxy smartphones to stream more than
13 million songs from over 200 radio stations. This month, Samsung
also launched Milk Video, a new mobile video service.
The lawsuit says Milk Music was developed after Samsung
partnered with Milk Studios on more than 18 occasions since 2006,
including photo shoots at the studio as late as September 2014. The
partnerships provided Samsung with "personal knowledge" of the Milk
brand, Milk Studios said in the suit. Milk Studios, for example,
was the venue for the launch of the Samsung Infuse 4G mobile
telephone in 2011, and for Samsung's new appliance offerings in
2012, the lawsuit said.
Milk Studios asked Samsung to stop using the Milk trademark in
March, and Samsung asked for time to consider the proposal before
informing Milk Studios in August that it wouldn't cease offering
services under the Milk name, according to the complaint.
Milk Studios alleges that Samsung's use of the Milk name has
caused "immediate and irreparable harm" to the studio's brand, with
business partners of Milk Studios incorrectly assuming that it is
partnering with Samsung on the music-streaming service.
The lawsuit is far from the first that Samsung has faced. Apple
kicked off a legal battle in nearly a dozen countries when it filed
a U.S. lawsuit in 2011, alleging Samsung copied features of its
iPhone, claims Samsung has previously denied. The companies have
agreed to dismiss patent disputes between them in eight countries,
but said in August they would push ahead with the most high-profile
dispute in the U.S.
Brian R. Fitzgerald in New York contributed to this article.
Write to Kathy Chu at kathy.chu@wsj.com
Access Investor Kit for Apple, Inc.
Visit
http://www.companyspotlight.com/partner?cp_code=P479&isin=US0378331005
Subscribe to WSJ: http://online.wsj.com?mod=djnwires