Telegram Messenger Inc. has been ordered to pay almost $625,000 price of authorized charges to a small cryptocurrency agency that it sued over util
Telegram Messenger Inc. has been ordered to pay almost $625,000 price of authorized charges to a small cryptocurrency agency that it sued over utilizing the ‘GRAM’ crypto-ticker and trademark.
In a Nov. 2 ruling, U.S District Decide Charles Breyer granted $618,240 in lawyer’s charges for 1,030.four hours work billed at $600 per hour. Lantah had requested compensation at a charge of $900 per hour, however the decide lowered the charges to satisfy the market charge for the companies.
Lantah was additionally awarded $6,737.35 in prices that Telegram didn’t object to.
Lantah LLC has been defending the lawsuit since Might 2018, after Telegram raised $1.7 billion by an preliminary coin providing (ICO) for GRAMs — the native token of its Telegram Open Community (TON) blockchain platform.
Telegram accused the agency of frequent regulation trademark infringement, unfair competitors, and false designation of origin for making an attempt to launch its personal GRAM token. Lantah launched a counter-suit in June 2018, asserting it had precedence over the trademark by having filed an utility with the U.S. Patent and Trademark workplace in late-2017.
Nonetheless, the lawsuit was voluntarily dropped in August this 12 months after Telegram deserted the TON challenge in Might, and settled a lawsuit filed by the united statesSecurities and Change Fee (SEC) in June.
The ruling mandated that Telegram’s movement to voluntarily dismiss the case was contingent on the agency paying all lawyer charges incurred by Lantah in its protection. Because the swimsuit was dismissed with out prejudice, Telegram has the appropriate to file future claims towards Lantah over the GRAM trademark.
In its settlement with the SEC, Telegram agreed to present the SEC discover earlier than any digital issuances for the following three years.