Panasonic Sued Over Plasma Claims

Panasonic, which fired up the flat panel debate of LCD TV Vs Plasma earlier this year, is now being sued for marketing claims relating to its plasma flat panel range.

NuVision U.S., a manufacturer of 1080p LED DLP and Deep Black LCD HDTV displays, is suing Panasonic for trademark infringement over the use of its “High Definition Living” slogan.

NuVision said it “has been using the ‘High Definition Living’ trademark, together with the NuVision brand mark, since the company’s inception in 2005. NuVision originally filed for the trademark in 2006, and received registration of the mark in October 2007.”

On Aug. 6, Panasonic launched its “Living In High Definition” campaign, which is based around an effort to let specially selected families from different backgrounds live with and use a suite of Panasonic high-def video-related products, and produce regular video programs documenting that experience.

“The ‘High Definition Living’ trademark has been a core part of our brand and culture since our company’s inception years ago and Panasonic has knowingly and willfully infringed upon our mark by adding ‘Living in High Definition’ to the company’s national marketing campaigns,” stated Scott Deley, NuVision CEO.

He continued, NuVision has invested heavily in promoting the NuVision “High Definition Living” brand and trademark over the past three years. Professional A/V home theater installers, celebrities, and America’s families choose NuVision for our distinctive whole-home HDTV solutions that are easy for the whole family to use and enjoy.”

“Since we notified Panasonic of their trademark infringement, NuVision has acted in good faith by offering Panasonic time to stop infringing upon our mark,” added Greg Todd, NuVision operations VP. “Panasonic has systematically denied infringement while continuing to infringe upon our mark and is now threatening to try and cancel our mark. It appears that Panasonic believes that they are so large that the law does not apply to them and that they can copy our trademark with impunity.”

Reached for comment on the charges, a Panasonic spokesman said the company’s “use of the phrase ‘Living In High Definition’ is lawful,” and that it is confident the court will “vindicate Panasonic,” in the matter.

The company declined to comment further because the case is in court and “it would be inappropriate to discuss it” at this time, the spokesman said.