It’s been long, it’s been hard, and it’s ended up in Europe’s highest court, but today, mobile operator 3 won its four-year spat with rival O2, in what the European Court of Justice called the “case about bubbles”. O2 sued the smaller network after it aired an ad that compared the pair’s PAYG tariffs, concluding that 3’s was cheaper. O2 never disagreed that the price comparison was wrong or misleading - instead it objected to 3’s use of the water bubbles that have long appeared in its own ads. But the ECJ ruled that advertisers can use rivals’ trademarks to allow fair comparisons, as long at it does not confuse the public. 

Network operators are a touchy lot when it comes to their trademarks and logos. Orange fought with EasyJet over the cut-price airline’s use of a similar shade of orange, while T-Mobile has sued Nordic carrier Telia for using a tint close to the magenta hue it’s trademarked in Germany for its advertising. Watch the ad after the jump…