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OnePlus is in a trademark infringement lawsuit in US and Europe over 'Dash' charging

A German earhones brand has objected to the continued trademark infringement of its intellectual property by OnePlus.

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Published onSeptember 25, 2018

Bragi, a German brand that makes a range of wireless earphones – The Dash, has objected to the continued trademark infringement of its intellectual property by OnePlus. The company has accused that despite rulings from European and US courts, OnePlus continues to use its trademarks in their products.

Background

OnePlus has not been able to secure a trademark for Dash Charge, the company’s proprietary fast charging technology, and lost the bid in Europe earlier this year after Amazon and Bragi opposed the bid. The two companies each have their own Dash-themed products — Amazon has its Dash Buttons and Bragi has its Dash range of wireless headsets.

Both the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) and the European Union Intellectual Property Office (EUIPO) have denied OnePlus’ attempts to register their own Dash Charge trademark, finding that its use would cause confusion among consumers in view of Bragi’s trademark.

Lawsuit

Nikolaj Hviid, Bragi’s CEO, has announced that the company has filed a complaint in the European Union alleging intentional infringement of Bragi registered trademark – The Dash, in addition to the ongoing litigation in the United States District Court for the Northern District of California.

This action is part of our continuing efforts to protect the Company’s valuable intellectual property. We previously warned OnePlus to stop infringing our trademark, and regret that we have to bring this action to enforce our intellectual property rights. Their intentional infringement of our trademarks cannot and will not be tolerated. These actions by OnePlus threaten all companies who legitimately develop and obtain intellectual property.

– Nikolaj Hviid, CEO, Bragi GmbH

Rebranding

The trademark issue meant that the company didn’t use the Dash Charge name during the OnePlus 6 global launch back in May and used ‘fast charge’ instead. In Europe and US, OnePlus has been selling accessories as ‘fast charging cables’ for example. In India though, the company continued to use the old name.

However, it was reported couple of months ago, that OnePlus has evidently opted for a rebranding anyway and the company is trying to trademark a new name for its fast charging technology – Warp Charge. There’s still a chance the new application could be denied, but the firm probably did its research this time around to make sure there are no similar Warp Charge products or trademarks.