The Court of Appeal agreed with the initial district court verdict, which stated that 3’s use of the number 3 did not constitute an infringement of TV3 owner MTG’s copyright.
The dispute began three years ago, when TV3 argued that the mobile operator’s use of the number 3 created a confusion, since both companies offer media services. As well as attempting to stop 3 using the number 3, TV3 demanded compensation of 50 million kronor.
“The ones who really wanted this process were not TV3 but another Stenbeck company, Comviq,” 3’s CEO Shlomo Liran told Svenska Dagbladet in July 2005.
“They didn’t like new competition and this was their way to try and stop us.”
The settlement reached by the two parties is reported to be amicable.