Samsung wins jury trial in ‘S10’ trademark lawsuit

The “S10” trademark battle between Samsung Electronics and S10 Entertainment & Media has ended with a victory for the tech giant. The jury in the case ruled in favor of Samsung, stating that the Galaxy S10 smartphones did not infringe on the trademark of the talent-management agency.

According to court documents published on Monday, the jury did not find the Galaxy S10 smartphones likely to cause confusion among consumers or dilute S10 Entertainment & Media’s brand in the market. Representatives for Samsung and S10 have not issued statements on the verdict.

S10 Entertainment & Media, which manages renowned pop stars Anitta and Normani, began using the “S10” name in 2017. Meanwhile, Samsung introduced its Galaxy S-series smartphones in 2010 and launched the S10 smartphones in 2019.

The talent-management agency claimed that Samsung’s marketing efforts would confuse customers into thinking the phone company was associated with the entertainment company—an allegation the phone maker refuted. S10 also pointed to Samsung’s previous partnerships with musicians as further evidence of potential brand confusion.

In support of its case, S10 cited customer requests for Samsung phones through its social media accounts as well as discussions between the two parties regarding an endorsement deal for Anitta to promote Samsung’s tech products. However, Samsung contended that its use of the “S10” name would not create confusion among customers, citing its previous Galaxy S trademarks as evidence.

Samsung also argued that S10 waited too long to file the lawsuit, while S10 maintained that the similarity in the names negatively impacted its online presence.

The case, S10 Entertainment & Media v. Samsung Electronics, was held in the US District Court for the Central District of California with reference number 2:21-cv-02443.

(Written by Blake Brittain)

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