Northwell urged a federal judge in Manhattan to dismiss New York University Langone’s trademark lawsuit against it that claims Northwell has been ripping off NYU’s color scheme, including its purple hue in ads.New York University is so linked to the color purple that “violets” is the nickname of its sports team, and the color is streamed across its web pages, including NYU Langone’s.
“Northwell filed a motion to dismiss NYU Langone’s unfounded lawsuit. NYU Langone does not own a trademark registration for any shade of purple for healthcare services, and its case is based on cherry-picking certain pieces of Northwell advertising to make false claims, including an attack on our hospital’s week-long COVID-19 recognition of health care workers,” Northwell said in a statement.
NYU stood its ground Tuesday, accusing Northwell Health of copycatting its ad materials to make purple rain — cash — off its reputation.