A British software company could face a costly legal battle after a telecoms giant took issue with the colour of its logo.

Lawyers acting for T-Mobile owners Deutsche Telekom have opposed a trademark application by Brighton-based company dataJAR.

Hogan Lovells said the German firm owns trademarks in magenta which is "the core element of its identity".

But dataJAR's James Ridsdale said: "We are not even the same shade of pink."

dataJAR manages and deploys Apple devices for businesses and educational institutions.

'Ridiculous'

The five-year-old company has seven employees and said it has been using its branding since 2013.

But after an application in January to protect its identity, Mr Ridsdale was issued with a "cease and desist" order.

The firm's Managing Director said: "They have trademarked one shade [magenta] and in fact I believe... the one they have trademarked isn't the one they are using.

"You can't own a colour, it's ridiculous."

Lawyer Paul Gilbert clarified: "You can copyright a colour [but] what you do have to do is trademark a recognised colour using the pantone standard.