AT&T and Verizon Drop Lawsuits Over Ad Campaigns

Dow Jones Newswires reports in a brief note that AT&T's lawsuit against Verizon regarding Verizon's recent ad campaigns targeting AT&T's 3G coverage has been dismissed.

AT&T Inc. (T) on Wednesday dismissed its lawsuit against Verizon Wireless and its recent "There's A Map For That" campaign.

AT&T had already suffered a legal setback when a judge rejected its request to pull the ads last month, which the Dallas carrier argued inaccurately suggested inferior network coverage. The court ruled that Verizon Wireless's ads, which showed maps comparing coverage, clearly talked about third-generation, or 3G, coverage.

The court's rejection of AT&T's request for a restraining order barring Verizon from airing ads using map-based comparisons of 3G coverage had slated a December 16th date for arguments in the suit, but AT&T has apparently decided not to pursue legal remedy regarding this issue.

Digital Daily also reports that Verizon has dropped a related lawsuit against AT&T, suggesting that the two companies may have come to a mutual agreement to drop their legal battle in what has been seen by many as a waste of time and money and a generator of bad publicity for the companies.