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AT&T To Court: Please Make Verizon Stop!

- By - Source : Tom's Guide US

AT&T is seeking an injunction to halt Verizon's ads.

AT&T amended its complaint against Verizon Wireless Wednesday night, asking the federal court in Atlanta to issue a restraining order against the rival company. Specifically, AT&T wants the court to prevent Verizon from running with a holiday ad campaign that claims the iPhone is a "misfit" device because of AT&T's proposed poor 3G coverage.

The argument stems from Verizon's use of maps within the commercials, depicting the wireless carrier's coverage across the nation with near inch-by-inch coverage visualized in red. AT&T's map, on the other hand, shows tons of white space, indicating that the company virtually has no coverage nationwide. The maps of course refer to 3G coverage, and AT&T said that they are misleading.

"Verizon makes the misleading statement that it has '5 times more '3G' coverage than AT&T, '" the company stated. "While this statement is literally true based on square miles, it is misleading because the overwhelming majority of the US population lives and works where both Verizon and AT&T have '3G' coverage. Indeed, from a population standpoint, Verizon only has 1.24 times more '3G' coverage than AT&T (285 million people/230 million people)."

According to AppleInsider, AT&T is asking for "treble damages" outside the injunction to stop the ads. AT&T said that Verizon violates 15 U.S.C. § 1125(a) , and that the rival made profits from false and misleading advertisements. AT&T is also seeking attorney's fees.

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Shadow703793 11/13/2009 2:10 AM
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LOL. AT&T bit**ing about this is just EPICALLY funny. I want to see what the courts say.

IzzyCraft 11/13/2009 2:20 AM
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backin5 11/13/2009 2:25 AM
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You can't really sue them for saying something true.

So if anything, AT&T should sue the lawyer(s) who told them they can actually win this case.

Anonymous 11/13/2009 2:27 AM
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IzzyCraft I don't think can speak english very well, but I will say this... Verizon may not be the fastest in terms of 3G but it still is the strongest, and if their claims are valid then AT&T doesn't have a leg to stand on. Oh and in terms of speed... its a damn cell phone my storm2 is plenty fast and I have a slingbox and can stream directly through their 3G perfectly well...

MrHectorEric 11/13/2009 2:29 AM
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I don't think I've ever seen an advertisement that isn't misleading. I see insurance companies prodding each other, and of course there's Apple's ads making stuff up about Windows. None of them go QQing to the courts. The courts are just going to throw this back at AT&T.

Don't complain about the competition, put more effort into making a better product. Despite advertisements, the products will speak for themselves.

fazers_on_stun 11/13/2009 2:37 AM
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FYI - "the iPhone is a "misfit" device because of AT&T's proposed poor 3G coverage." would probably be better as purported :).

CoderDunn 11/13/2009 2:46 AM
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Quote :"While this statement is literally true based on square miles, it is misleading because the overwhelming majority of the US population lives and works where both Verizon and AT&T have '3G' coverage"


What about someone who travels a lot?

Anonymous 11/13/2009 2:53 AM
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mitchmeister03 11/13/2009 2:59 AM
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News Flash: AT&T is suing for Verizon not comparing Apples to Oranges.

kittle 11/13/2009 3:03 AM
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hrm. so the new thing is if you cant beat em, sue em?

must be nice to be a lawyer.

Anonymous 11/13/2009 3:07 AM
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What doesn't AT&T add the infrastructure. Then Verizon can't use that advertising. If they add a bit more then they can run their own ads with maps.

autoimmune 11/13/2009 3:09 AM
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F you AT&T. Here's a thought, instead of whining, upgrade your
network.

Anonymous 11/13/2009 3:20 AM
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gravitygirl 11/13/2009 3:33 AM
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Unfortunately almost all advertising is misleading. And perhaps the U.S. will have to take a page from Europe's advertising playbook to avoid all the wasted time and effort arguing about things like this.

Someone in EU correct me if I'm wrong, but I do EU ad laws disallow a company comparing their product to another company? So EU companies are allowed to toot their own horn but are not allowed to say they are better than 'X'. is that true in EU?

scook9 11/13/2009 3:35 AM
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AT&T really cannot complain here, they go around bragging about being the fastest, Verizon brags about being the widest. You don't see Verizon suing anyone?

This is just making their coverage look as bad as it really is, which they do not like.

Shadow703793 11/13/2009 3:45 AM
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sucky_sucky_ :
AT&T, Apple, and Intel all suck at life, which is why they do business with each other...


And you are a troll. GTFOH.

tester24 11/13/2009 3:50 AM
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AT&T is just pissed because Verizon found AT&T's weakness. So who cares that the AT&T wants Verizon to say that they at least cover the population but... WHAT IF I WANT TO GET 3G COVERAGE OUTSIDE THE POPULATION!!!

For instance, I'm on a week camping trip and on day 4 I planned on doing some hiking however it is going to rain all day, so instead of sitting around all day I want to look up what's playing at the local movies or is there any other indoor entertainment so the day isn't totally ruined... well there you have it only having 3G coverage in areas where only the "majority population" resides doesn't exactly fit the way I need it to... *Wish I could make the "I" bigger.*

Yeah sure you can still get connectivity but who's to say it's going to be fast or if you are going to be roaming...

intesx 11/13/2009 3:52 AM
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Amazingly, AT&T actually has a valid argument here... I'm really surprised that they haven't pointed out that Verizon's map includes VZW's 1xRTT coverage as "3G" when it's really a 2.5G technology. If Verizon wants to shows it 2.5G on its 3G coverage map, they should show AT&T's EDGE coverage too. If you were to look at Verizon's EV-DO map by itself, it would be nearly indistinguishable from AT&T's 3G map that they show.

Anonymous 11/13/2009 4:11 AM
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christop 11/13/2009 4:26 AM
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sounds like a little kid being picked on... make them stop lol...

TunaSoda 11/13/2009 4:57 AM
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I say let them fight amongst themselves while I enjoy my T-Mobile service ;)

tayb 11/13/2009 5:21 AM
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Arnold to AT&T: Stop whining!

griffed88 11/13/2009 6:05 AM
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I honestly don't think AT&T has a leg to stand on, but the Justice system here is f'd up. So who knows, AT&T could win. Which would suck.

duckmanx88 11/13/2009 6:29 AM
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WAHHH WAHHHH! QQ more ATT. and it clearly states in giang bold lettering that the map represents 3G coverage.

brains2200 11/13/2009 7:33 AM
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I've use both data plans for years. Cingular now att used to be the best. It service has gone down the toliet. I cant get service in areas I used to. That includes not only voice but internet. It is so bad now. I dont even both checking my Att for calls or data as I work around Southern California.

Verizon used to be like that. Now I get Verizon voice service and internet is places that are a really remote.

JonathanDeane 11/13/2009 8:50 AM
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I could care less as I do not use either one... but I do find it amusing that one company is complaining about another's advertisement. I thought commercials could say almost anything as long as it was not untrue.

blackns 11/13/2009 9:39 AM
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i personally like the verizon ad showing the "old toys" in toy hell or w/e and then they ask the iphone whats it doing with them down there because it's so popular. It then shows the iphone 3g map...lmao!!!!!!!

rtfm 11/13/2009 10:28 AM
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"While this statement is literally true" - Ha ha. When you add in the massive obvious "3g coverage" text overlay on the advert this just seems silly. I would love to be the defence lawyer:

AT&T: Your adverts are a tissue of lies
Verizon: You said the statmeent was literally true
AT&T: err *twiddles thumbs*
Verizon: Here is a suit for damages for malicous litigation
AT&T: Is that the time? *looks at ceiling, shuffles away...*

rtfm 11/13/2009 10:36 AM
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Also I think it's sad that companies have this kind of attitude now. Instead of making a better/faster/more reliable product so peope use you business, it seems companies prefer just to sue (usually for some stupid patent crap). Totally kills innovation.

It reminds me of how people have an accident now and instead of learning not to be so clumsy/stupid (e.g. not running on that ice rink wearing bannana skates while balancing a massive boiling jug of acid on the head and juggling chainsaws), they prefer to find someone to sue (the ice rink owner for not having a sign). /rant

bigght 11/13/2009 11:39 AM
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LOL..I just sat their and thought, "how long before AT&T put an ad out to couneteract the Verizon ad"? The ad never came, cause they know what Verizon said was credible. AT&T are a joke, as are APPLE, who have to make the competition look bad, even when the competition are giving them a run for their $$. Verizon has spent the $$ to expand their range, AT&T hasn't.

lashabane 11/13/2009 12:04 PM
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AT&T just needs to go and set up a WiFi network so someone can go and download a movie; then the MPAA would really have something to go after.