Saying thanks costs nothing, as the adage goes. But not according to Citigroup, the US bank, which is suing AT&T on the grounds that its use of the term amounts to a trademark infringement.

俗话说，说句“谢谢”没什么损失，可花旗集团(Citigroup)不这么想。这家美国银行正因为这个词起诉AT&T，理由是后者使用这个词等于是侵犯了该行的商标权。

For the past 12 years Citi has run a series of credit card loyalty schemes based on the “thankyou” brand, which awards points to users based on how much they spend. Last April AT&T, the phone company, became one of Citi’s partners in that programme, launching a co-branded card with a sign-on bonus covering up to the $650 of the cost of a phone.

过去12年，花旗以“thankyou”品牌为基础运作了一系列信用卡忠诚度计划，依据用户的消费额奖励他们积分。去年4月，电话公司AT&T成为花旗这一计划的合作伙伴，推出了一张联名信用卡，开卡后若在AT&T购买一部手机可奖励高达650美元。

But this month AT&T broke ranks, according to Citi, by launching a separate reward programme using the words “thanks” and “AT&T thanks”. In a complaint filed in a Manhattan federal court on Friday, Citi said that it was seeking injunctive relief and unspecified damages. It cited eight trademarks using the term “thankyou,” which it said was “conclusive” evidence of its sole right to use the marks on cards in the US.

但花旗表示，本月AT&T与它分道扬镳，用“thanks”以及“AT&T thanks”标识推出了自己的奖励计划。上周五，花旗向曼哈顿一联邦法院提交诉状，称自己寻求禁令救济(injunctive relief)和获得损害赔偿，但未言明赔偿金额。花旗列出了使用“thankyou”标识的8个商标，称这一“确凿”证据证明，该行拥有在美国的卡上使用“thankyou”标识的独家权利。

“AT&T’s use of the … trademarks is likely to cause consumer confusion and constitutes trademark infringement, false designation of origin, and unfair competition in violation of Citigroup’s rights,” the bank wrote.

花旗在诉状中写道：“AT&T使用这些……商标很可能会给消费者造成混淆，构成了商标侵权、不实来源标示、以及侵犯花旗集团权益的不公平竞争。”

AT&T, which has a market capitalisation of $249bn, almost twice Citi’s, gave the complaint short shrift.

AT&T对这一起诉反应冷淡。该公司市值达2490亿美元，几乎是花旗的两倍。

“This may come as a surprise to Citigroup, but the law does not allow one company to own the word ‘thanks,” said spokesperson Fletcher Cook, in an email. “We’re going to continue to say thanks to our customers.”

AT&T发言人弗莱彻•库克(Fletcher Cook)在一封电邮中表示：“花旗集团可能会对此感到意外，但法律并不允许一家公司拥有‘thanks’这个词。我们会继续向我们的客户说谢谢。”