The Legal Showdown between Telegram and Lantah LLC
In a twist that even the best courtroom dramas struggle to script, Telegram Messenger Inc. has found itself on the financial hook, facing a hefty bill of approximately $625,000 in legal fees to a rather small but determined cryptocurrency firm, Lantah LLC. This case debuted on the legal stage back in May 2018, when Telegram decided to unleash its inner heavyweight by going after Lantah for using the ‘GRAM’ ticker, which Telegram sought to trademark for its own digital currency. Spoiler alert: it didn’t end well for Telegram.
Breaking Down the Fees
The U.S. District Judge, Charles Breyer, laid down the law on November 2, awarding a cool $618,240 in attorney’s fees. This sum was calculated from 1,030.4 hours of legal hustle, billed at a reasonable rate of $600 per hour. Now that’s a lot of dial tones! Initially, Lantah aimed higher, asking for $900 per hour, but Judge Breyer decided that wasn’t the market rate—talk about a budget cut!
In addition to the attorney fees, Lantah pocketed another $6,737.35 to cover costs that Telegram didn’t bother to contest. Talk about dropping the ball!
The Rise and Fall of GRAM
As a backstory, Telegram kicked off the drama by raising a whopping $1.7 billion in its initial coin offering for the GRAM tokens—basically, a gold rush but with crypto instead of pickaxes. However, the plot thickened when Telegram accused Lantah of trademark infringement, unfair competition, and misleading origin claims. Meanwhile, Lantah wasn’t just twiddling its thumbs; it fired back with a countersuit in June 2018, arguing it had priority on the trademark thanks to a timely application at the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office back in late 2017.
The Case Takes a Turn
This courtroom saga hit a plot twist in August of this year, when Telegram decided to voluntarily drop the lawsuit. This change came as Telegram abandoned its ambitious Telegram Open Network (TON) project back in May and settled with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) shortly after. Seems like they had bigger fish to fry—or maybe they just ran out of ink for their legal pads.
Future Implications
The ruling has a kicker: Telegram’s dismissal was dependent on paying Lantah’s legal fees, leaving the door wide open for a potential sequel. Because the case was dismissed without prejudice, Telegram could return to the legal ring to take another swing at the GRAM trademark. And last but not least, as part of its SEC settlement, Telegram agreed to notify the SEC before launching any digital issuances for the next three years. Now that they have a clearer view of what’s at stake, the stage might be set for a more cautious approach.
