By Selina Lum

TWO broadcasters are battling it out here - not on the airwaves, but in the Singapore High Court. The bone of contention: a red triangular logo.

In 2003, Malaysia-based Astro All Asia Networks, as part of a rebranding exercise, sought to register a triangular logo, with its name underneath, as a trademark here.

Astro, listed on the Kuala Lumpur Stock Exchange, provides direct-to-home satellite TV services in Malaysia and Brunei, and is also a leading radio broadcaster and publisher of magazines in Malaysia.

MediaCorp News, which owns and manages TV news channel Channel NewsAsia (CNA), opposed the move, arguing that Astro's logo is similar to CNA's mark, which was registered in 2000.

But after a hearing last year, the Intellectual Property Office of Singapore (IPOS) dismissed its opposition. Principal assistant registrar Anne Loo found that while the logos are visually and conceptually similar, the similarities are not likely to confuse the public.

Yesterday, MediaCorp appealed to the High Court against the IPOS decision. Its lawyer, Mr Wun Rizwi, pointed to the similarities in the logos - both are red and are triangular designs meant to symbolise a capital 'A'- though he said he would not go so far as to say that Astro was trying to ride on CNA's reputation.

But Astro's lawyer, Mr Max Ng, argued that the logo should be construed as a whole - his client's logo includes two swirls and its name at the bottom.

Justice Lee Seiu Kin will give his decision at a later date.

This article was first published in The Straits Times.