PayPal files lawsuit against Pandora for mimicking its 'iconic logo'
Imagine the horror: you're attempting to pay for something using your phone but just when you pull up the app your device starts blasting the last embarrassing song you were listening to.
According to a legal complaint filed on Friday, this is a common problem faced by PayPal users thanks to the music streaming app Pandora's 2016 logo redesign, which looks remarkably similar to PayPal's.
PayPal is suing the music streaming app for trademark infringement, claiming Pandora's imitation of its "iconic" blue P logo is confusing users and threatening their experiences with the online payment platform.
PayPal claims Pandora's similar logo interferes with the online payment app's ease of use and distinct branding. "One critically important function of the PayPal Logo is to stand out on the crowded screens of customers' smartphones and tablets," the lawsuit states. "Even the slightest delay in locating and using PayPal’s payments platform causes customers inconvenience, and degrades PayPal’s standing with customers and merchants."
The lawsuit claims "central features" of PayPal's iconic logo include "capital Ps depicted in a distinctive, block-style sans serif type, with no 'counter' or hole in the top part of the P," and a "deep-blue color range" -- all features which the Pandora logo also utilizes.
Along with several app users on social media, Venture Beat called out the similarity back in Oct. 2016, shortly after Pandora revealed its new logo.
Over 20 posts from Twitter and Facebook are included in the lawsuit, which further illustrate the confusion users experience when attempting to use one of the two apps.
Hmmmmm ... okay, if people are trying to listen to music through PayPal and send money through Pandora I guess we see the issue here.
The battle of the logos has been going on for months now, and the legal action certainly isn't PayPal's first attempt at remedying the confusion. According to the lawsuit, "When customers began to complain about the Pandora Logo, PayPal immediately raised their concerns with Pandora in a private and businesslike manner," via letters and attempts at conversation. However, "Pandora did nothing."
In a statement back in October, the music streaming service said the new logo, "with its vibrant and bold color scheme, showcases the next phase of the product and the music experiences Pandora brings you."
Sure, Pandora ... or it just reminds people of PayPal. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
You can view the entire document below:
Mashable reached out to Pandora and PayPal for comment.
Topics Music
Nicole is a Senior Editor at Mashable. She primarily covers entertainment and digital culture trends, and in her free time she can be found watching TV, sending voice notes, or going viral on Twitter for admiring knitwear. You can follow her on Twitter @nicolemichele5.
