Sirlibz
Telegram has been ordered to pay $625,000 worth of legal fees to Lantah, a small crypto firm that it sued for using GRAM ticker and trademark. The United States District Judge Charles Breyer granted $618,240 in attorney’s fees for 1,030.4 hours of work billed at $600 per hour, this is irrespective of the fact that Lantah had requested compensation at the rate of $900 per hour. The small Crypto firm’s request was reduced in order to meet the market rate for the services.
Lantah Was accused of common law trademark infringement, unfair competition and false designation of origin for trying to launch it’s own GRAM token. Lantah LLC has since then been defending the lawsuit even after telegram raised $1.7 billion through an initial coin offering for GRAM. The Crypto firm then launched a counter suit in June 2018, insisting that it had priority over the trade mark through having filled an application with the U.S patent and trademark office in late 2017. Later this May, telegram abandoned the TON project and the lawsuit was dropped voluntarily in August. Telegram settled their lawsuit that was filled by the U.S Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) in June.
Lantah was also awarded $6,737.35 in cost that telegram reportedly did not object to according to coin telegraph.
Telegram however has the right to file future claims against Lantah over the GRAM trademark since the ruling mandated that telegram’s motion to voluntarily dismiss the case was contingent on the firm paying all attorney fees incurred by Lantah in it’s defense.
Telegram has agreed to notify SEC before issuing any digital currency or assets in line with their settlement.
