Kraftwerk founder says phone charger's name infringes band’s trademarks

The lead singer of German electronic band Kraftwerk has sued a technology company, claiming the name of a yet-to-be-released phone charger infringes trademarks he owns.

Ralf Hütter filed the lawsuit yesterday (March 9) at the US District Court for the District of Delaware, where he claimed that eZelleron’s portable phone charger, also called Kraftwerk, infringes three US ‘Kraftwerk’ trademarks.

The trademarks, owned by Hütter, cover dozens of services including clothing, CDs and DVDs. The word translates to ‘power plant’ in English.

The portable phone charger product at the centre of the dispute raised more than $1.5 million on crowdfunding website Kickstarter for eZelleron, surpassing the original target of $500,000.

On its Kickstarter page, eZelleron has described the Kraftwerk as a “totally new energy supply technology for mobile electronic devices”.

Consumers can declare their interest in the product through the website hellokraftwerk.com by adding themselves to the company’s official waiting list.

But, in the complaint, Hütter said that the sale and distribution of the portable phone charger would contribute to the dilution of the band’s trademarks, which are “widely recognised by the general consuming public” of the US.

“Consumers are likely to assume there is a connection, association, or relationship between the famous electronic music band and a charger for portable devices,” the court document claimed.

Kraftwerk first came to prominence in the 1970s. In 1997, the band was described as the “Beatles of electronic music” by newspaper the New York Times.

Hütter has requested that an injunction be placed on the sale of the product and that all domain name registrations containing the word 'Kraftwerk' owned by eZelleron be transferred to him.

Hütter could not be reached for comment. eZelleron did not respond to a request for comment.